Family Reunion
by Vee123
Summary: If you've been reading the manga then you know Toriko came from humble beginnings. So I added a sister with dragon eyes and another with kitty cat claws, a gangsta dad, and a bitchy mom. Just to make it more interesting. This is the first part of a three story series. This one is about Toriko's reunion with sisters he doesn't remember, and the other two will cover the sisters.
1. Chapter 1, Siblings Reunited

"Hahaha! We finally got all the heavenly kings together, didn't we Komatsu!" Toriko laughed, "Thanks to your cooking!"

Looking embarrassed, Komatsu rubbed his head and said, "You did all the real work, Toriko-san."  
Toriko just shook his head and kept walking. He knew Komatsu wouldn't realize he was a huge part of what made the four heavenly kings be able to fit together so well. But he could try.  
They were on the very top floor of a huge, fancy, and, of course, expensive restaurant (of Sani's choice, of course). Komatsu had brought some of his now famous century soup, since Zebura had never tried it before. He'd said something about wanting to try it, and, in his usual style, had stuck in the word cocky somewhere. Komatsu hadn't minded, but was still worried that Zebura wouldn't approve. That was Komatsu for you, Toriko thought. He's a good guy through and through.

Outside The Restaurant  
Two women stood outside of the Heaven's Towers restaurant, looking up. One of them was a curvy redhead, and was wearing very short cutoff shorts paired with a tight black leather jacket, which had fur from the Ice Wolf lining the hood. She wore black leather high heeled boots that reached to just below her knees, and two katana hung from her hip. The only thing that marred her otherwise perfect appearance were her eyes. Well, not precisely her eyes. They were a deep, midnight blue, but on each iris curled a dragon, the right gold, the left silver. She was Dragon-Eyes, a renowned Bishokuya and

disciple of the way of Food Honor.

Her blonde companion was similarly beautiful. Her hair was the only odd thing about her, because, as anyone who knew Toriko would know, it had streaks in it the same exact color as his. She wore a black band of fabric over her ample chest that showed off her flat stomach, and a semi-sheer, blood red skirt that reached to just below her knees, with a gold sash at her waist. Concealed somewhere was a dagger that had saved her life many times. Her eyes, the same dark color as her sister's, were troubled.

"Sister... do you think... do you think he'll remember us? Will he be angry? Do you think he'll forgive us?" the blonde asked.

The redhead grinned and replied, "I don't know, and I don't care. Somethin' smells really fucking good, so let's get up there before they eat it all."

Laughing now, the blonde nodded, and they entered the restaurant together.

Top floor

"Toriko! Komatsu! You're finally here," Sani said, "I was starting to think you'd gotten poor Komatsu lost, Toriko."

Shaking his fist at Sani, Toriko shouted, "I have a fine sense of direction, idiot!" Sani just smirked at tossed his hair, looking superior.

"Hey, Komatsu, Toriko," Coco said calmly. He was as calm as Sani was aloof.

Zebura growled, "You'd better have brought something decent kid, I'm hungry."

"O-Of course, Zebura-san," Komatsu stammered.

"Are you getting... cocky?" Zebura snarled, as angry (on the outside) as usual.

"N-no Zebura-san!" he stammered, taking Zebura as seriously as always.

The head chef, Xhi, broke in with a fully loaded (and then some) cart full of the food they had ordered.

"Mmm sweet!" Toriko said, sitting down quickly and staring at the food.

The food was on the table in an instant, and the head chef left them to their meal.

"I give thanks to all the ingredients of the world," Toriko said, "Itadaki-"

Suddenly the elevator beeped and admitted two uninvited guests to their party. The redhead's eyes went straight to the biggest threats, the four heavenly kings, regarding them as though she felt threatened. Her hand was playing with the katana at her waist.

The blonde's reaction was radically different. The second the elevator doors opened her eyes had gone straight to Toriko, and had frozen there. She mouthed a word too quietly to hear, but her body was as frozen as her gaze.

Toriko half rose, turning to face the intruders on his meal. "Who are you guys?" he demanded.  
His question was answered an instant later, as the blonde woman ran to him, and grabbed him in a hug, tears flowing down her face. "Brother... we came for you."

"EHHHHHHH?" everyone in the room but the two women and Toriko shouted, "BROTHER?"

Here, the redhead moved forward. "Cat... Let him go."

Tears still falling from her eyes, the blonde woman did as she said. "Ari, we finally found our brother! Are you really so cold you wouldn't greet him?"

"I would... but Cat, he doesn't remember who we are," Ari said, sadness in her eyes.

Laughing, Cat waved her sister's words off, "Of course he remembers! We're all grown up, sure, but we're family! So of course-," she cut herself off. She had turned back to Toriko, and had seen the truth for herself.

Toriko himself hadn't moved since Cat had thrown herself at him. He looked merely puzzled, and just a little bit frightened.

Coco tried to diffuse the situation by saying, "I'm sorry, but are you sure you have the right person? The only siblings Toriko has are us three."

"No... no!" Cat exclaimed, "He has to remember us! He HAS to! Yorun, tell them you know who we are!"

She turned to Toriko, who backed up. Tears again filled her eyes, but these weren't tears of happiness.

"Please... please say you remember, Yor-"

"Stop calling me that!"Toriko shouted, "I don't know you people! I have no siblings! My name is Toriko! I don't know who the hell Yorun is, but go find him and leave me alone!"

Here the other woman stepped forward. "Toriko, you say? I'm going to ask you to please listen-"

Sani suddenly stood up, slamming his fists on the table. "Toriko get away from them! I know her, she's Dragon-Eyes!"

With a gasp, Komatsu said, "You mean the _Bishokukai_? The one who's said to be a pain-filled death to her enemies, and supposedly as vicious as a rabid wolf?"

All four heavenly kings were now standing, thoroughly confused but battle ready.

"Wait wait wait! Calm the hell down, I'm ex-Bishokukai now, and I prefer to go by Arianna or Ari," she said, still unfazed.

Toriko snorted, "There's no such thing as ex-Bishokukai. They're all six feet under."

"Maybe my reputation will be enough of a voucher," the other woman said, "I'm Cathrine, the owner and head of Legend Island."

"A famous biologist traveling with an "ex" Bishokukai? What on earth..." Coco murmured.

"They're damn cocky, let's get rid of them and go back to the food," Zebura growled.

Chuckling darkly, Dragon-Eyes growled impertinently back, "Just try... Zebura... _san_."

"Voice Bullet!" he roared.

His attack flew towards Ari, but she was no longer standing where she had been. It hit the wall, which now looked like Swiss cheese.

"Nice try," she snarled, "But it's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that."

She moved to attack him, but when her sister threw out an arm to stop her, she stopped, albeit reluctantly.

"We're not here to fight. Of we could, however, we would like to speak to... Toriko."  
Toriko opened his mouth, and it was obvious he would refuse, when a voice interrupted yet again.

"Toriko-san? I think, maybe, you should listen to them. No, definitely!" Komatsu said, looking determined.

"But, Komatsu," Toriko objected.

"How do you know they aren't telling the truth, Toriko-san? You should at least hear them out!" Komatsu said.  
Sighing and running a hand through his hair, Toriko said, "Fine, but you're going to have to deal with everyone being here."

Looking relieved, Cathrine began, "Thank you, Toriko! You won't-"

He cut her off, angry, "Thank Komatsu, not me." He moved over to the table set to the side and took a seat.

Everyone else also moved to the table, Zebura (of course) still angry.

When everyone was settled, Cat said, "I think I should begin, because my story begins this. It's going to be a long one, and neither of us lived very good lives. Toriko, at the beginning of your life you were Yorun, our brother..." she began the long story of Toriko's past, hidden even from him all these years.


	2. Lightning Fang, Arena Fighter

"... Our mother's name was Tsuri. She was beautiful, with red hair like Ari's and dark blue eyes. And for a while we were happy to live with her. We were poor by our mother's choice. Our father was rich beyond belief, but Tsuri's pride made her unable to accept anything he offered. She had a job somewhere nearby, so we survived."

"With twins and an older daughter, she should have just taken the damn money," Ari muttered, staring out the window.

"Kiri did you really have to bring that up?" her sister said reproachfully.

"Wait, when you say twins you can't possibly mean..." Sani trailed off, not sure if he wanted to finish the sentence.

"Yes. Toriko and I are fraternal twins. I was born a minute after him, at 12:12, just after midnight. Can I please continue?" she said in exasperation.

Toriko was shaking his head and looking angry, obviously regretting having followed Komatsu's advice. Everyone else, (except Zebura who was looking, if possible, angrier than Toriko) was paying rapt attention to their story.

Here the ex-Bishokukai took over. "I think I can explain this best. My sister here would try to say this delicately. I won't, so brace yourself for several unpleasant truths. Firstly, our rich ass father was leader of the Ascendant Pheonix gang. He also," she continued, ignoring the disbelief of her listeners, "worked closely with the Biskokukai. That's how he made so much money. If they needed someone dead but didn't want to draw attention, guess who they called?" She chuckled darkly, and swept her gaze over her audience. Toriko's expression was frozen on disbelief and anger, Suni and Coco wore similar expressions that told her they were trying to decide if it was safe to have them here, Zebura still looked ticked off and ready for a fight, and only Komatsu looked as  
though he was truely listening. She addressed her next words to him. "Our father's connection to the Bishokukai was eventually found out, and he was thrown into Honey Prision to rot for eternity. He's dead now. He died years ago. I have a photo somewhere..." She dug around in her pockets for a minute before pulling out a well creased picture. This she tossed down on the table before leaning back in her chair and taking a swing from her hip flask.

Everyone present who hadn't yet seen the picture leaned forward. It was of a man about 35 years old, and he was the picture of the stereotype of the man the two women had described. The only unexpected thing about this man was his face. Toriko's eyes were bugging out of his head as he stared at a man who looked like an older, rougher version of himself. He was attired simply in a  
white t-shirt and jeans, and his bare arms were crisscrossed with white scars. His hair was the same color as Toriko's, and almost the same length. His eyes, the shape of his face, were the same as his son's. Impossible was the word on everyone's minds. They had been listening to the women's story in an attempt to placate them, but now their story began to have credit.  
"Yup, there's dear old dad... This was taken before he was arrested obviously. I think the photo's about seven years old, so it couldn't have been that long before he was arrested.  
I don't really know anything about the man personally, but his criminal record's about a mile long, and that's only the ones they actually managed to nail him for. I don't know how he met our mother either. But they did, and here we are thanks to that.

I was only seven when he was arrested. You guys were five then, so you probably don't remember much, but he was always kind to us. Yo-Toriko, you would always want to yank on his hair, and he would laugh and pretend to tackle you... I remember him always letting you win.

Of course, he was gone a lot. Then, on his last visit he was so serious and our mother told us to go to bed. I don't know what they spoke about that day, but Dad never came back. I think he was arrested the day after he last came over. Near as I could tell, he went without a fight.

Mom was never the same afterwards. She started yelling all the time. We put up with it, and she was hard on all of us at first. Then, six years later, when you were 11, men from dad's gang came to the house. This time when Tsuri told us to go to bed I crept back down to listen. They were talking about you, Toriko.

The men wanted to take you that instant and start training you. She refused to let them, she said you were too young. They claimed that Yoru had started in the gang when he was only ten.  
She countered by reminding them that he had almost died as well, should they try that? They were furious, and the argument just kept going. I was  
frozen at the foot of the stairs. I would have run back upstairs then and there if I had been able. Maybe then we could have had better lives... But I didn't, and we don't.  
In the end, Tsuri won. You would live with us until you turned thirteen, and then they would take you. The compromise wasn't making anyone happy, but it was what it was. No one had won, and no one had lost. Except for my brother.

I finally unfroze as she turned back to go upstairs and sleep herself. I ran and pretended to sleep, but the next morning I began to plan."

"And here's where I take over again for a while," Cathrine said, "I have an ability similar to Heavenly King  
Coco's fortune telling. I call it Animal Intuition. Basically, I can figure out what will happen in the event of blank. If I flip a quarter, I always know what the result will be before it's revealed. Kiri, that was her name then, asked me what I saw. If we stayed, I saw Kiri and myself dead, and Yorun taken by the men who wanted him as a means of revenge. This was the most likely result. The only solution we could come up with was for us to run away. All three of us would leave together. We would head for the city 30 miles away, and find ways to make a living there.

Then Tsuri got sick, so bad that we were afraid she might die. And so Kiri volunteered to stay behind. Yorun and I would run away and create a living for ourselves, all the while waiting for her to join us."  
She paused as though she was having difficulty continuing.

Ari, growing impatient, tried to finish up the story. "She saw that I would have little to no difficulty getting away. Unfortunately for me, she was wrong."

"No, Kiri... I wasn't. I knew what was coming for you," Cat sighed.

At this Ari turned to face her sister, shocked. "Cat I can't believe you were so selfish! I would have died for you! You should have told me the truth!"

Shaking her head, Cat stood her ground, but looked ashamed of herself. "No, I didn't tell you because I saw that you would be better off without the knowledge. Toriko and I would escape, and you would be taken by the Bishokukai. Toriko would have the easiest time, I would have the most difficult, and yours would be somewhere inbetween. Toriko, you knew nothing about our plans, and we ran  
only a day before I saw the men would return, years early. We finally reached the city, and I performed my second deceit of the day. I told you I saw nothing but death for us in  
the city, which was true, but then when I said whoever took the train would have the easiest time, I lied. You behaved as I had known you would. You told me to get on the train. I ran, and you followed. I lured you through the city using Flash Step, although I didn't know it then. You followed me through the city, and into the desert. I kept running, and you kept following. You were only getting flashes of my form, but you were dead set on following me. I disappeared around sunset, and you kept wandering after me. You reached an oasis only moments after I left you, and found the food I had left for you. I heard you resolve to find me in the morning. By then I was gone. I'd left a trail of footprints in the opposite direction of the city for you to follow, as well as most of my food and water with you. The probability of you running into the man who would save you and reshape your life was 100%. I myself headed back to the city. I got on a train towards a town I'd heard about from our  
mother. I don't even remember it's name now. I hadn't slept for an entire day at this point, so of course I fell asleep. I missed my stop, and when I woke up the train driver kicked me out at the last stop the train made. Gourmet Casino. Or as I though of it, hell masquerading as heaven.

The people were vicious. Gourmet Casino is about 90% casino, and 10% dirty, uncontroled slum. I had no money, and almost no food. I wandered in that hell for only five days before I became desperate enough to try to steal. Of course, I failed. I tried to steal what seemed to me to be a strangely shaped fruit. It looked and smelled delicious. I learned later that this was  
a highly addictive narcotic ingredient, the Lightning Banana. The shopkeeper, a huge woman, caught me barely a foot away from the cart. I was frightened because she looked so angry, but when she saw what I had, her face suddenly became friendlier, softer. She kindly told me that I could have the bananas, even though she knew I couldn't pay for them, and she would even be kind enough to protect  
me while I ate them from the older, larger kids. I was so grateful. I ate them and thought I had never tasted anything better. Her gloating face is the last thing I remembered for a long time. The next lucid thought I can recall, it was about a week later and I was desperately hungry and thirsty. My clothes, new and clean when I'd last seen them, were ragged and covered in dirt. My head was spinning, and I had no idea where I was. I drank all I could hold from a well after staggering to it, but nothing slaked my thirst. I found and ate food from a trash bin outside a restaurant, but was still hungry. My body craved the drug above all else. I had no word for it yet, so I called it the hunger. I also knew that wandering into the city would put me at risk of seeing and, far worse, smelling the fruit, so I stayed on the outskirts for a few days. I knew that in my current condition I was no match for the hunger.

Eventually, my stomach forced me back into the city. I wondered into yet more trouble. I found a fight ring. The cheering of the crowd alerted me to  
it's closeness, and even my Animal Intuition said yes.

It was two kids only a few years older and not much bigger than me fighting for a plate of food. Real food. I was almost drooling, and I resolved to fight the winner for his prize. I didn't believe I could win, but  
if I could, I'd have food and maybe even money for more. If not, I certainly wouldn't die. Except maybe from starvation.

Another man called for the match to start. The two boys launched themselves at each other, kicking and throwing punches. I weighed both of them as they fought with each  
other, and when one of the boys won, I didn't pause to look at the victor before running into the center of the ring of people. It was to be my first  
fight. I didn't realize how many more there would be after.

The crowd scoffed at the idea of me winning the fight, but you've been there, right? The people are vicious. If it's amusing and you can bet outrageous amounts of money on it, it's popular.  
My bid for the right to challenge him was accepted. We faced off, and the crowd jeered and called at us to start. He was both taller and older than me, and unlike myself, had obviously had a few  
square meals recently. I was too hungry to really think about it, but when he threw his first punch, it seemed to move agonizingly  
slowly. I dodged, and heard the crowd gasp. It was then that I realized it wouldn't be fighting my opponent that I should concern myself with, but outlasting him.

He continued to throw punches and kicks, and I continued to dodge. For someone with who looked as skeletal as I was, I'd certainly lasted longer than the crowd anticipated. They were beginning to  
taunt my opponent, and I even heard a few cheering for me. Again by instinct, I used a three ren kugi punch combined with what I later named flash step. He  
stood no chance. All of my other competitors fade and blur into a single mass of hulking, violent threats, but I still remember his face. It was already scarred from previous fights, and his eyes were so accusatory. But I needed that food too badly to care. Everyone was cheering over my victory, but I ignored them all and stumbled over to the table that the judge was standing by. I asked him if I could eat, and I didn't understand why he looked so sad then. But I do now. I was forever entangled in the hell that was the Outskirts. I was so grateful for that food, but I still wasn't planning on returning to the fights.  
That was, until that night.

I was full for once, and I was headed back to my temporary home in the rafters of an old church, when I heard yelling. I had long since learned to avoid shouting matches, but I thought I recognized one of the voices. I approached quietly, and saw my opponent from that afternoon. He was cornered by two hulking men, presumably from the organizers of the fights.

"You said what?" the larger of the two barked.

"W-Well sir I don't want to fight anymore. It's not worth it! I don't want to die!" the poor kid moaned.

The shorter man laughed without humor at this, and mocked him with a baby voice. "Oh, you don't wanna? You wanna live? Guess what kid? If you  
don't fight, you don't LIVE!" He was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face.

Their victim looked more frightened of them than I felt. "I-I.."

"Shut up," the taller one said, pulling out a gun. He calmly held it up to the kid 's forehead and shot him.

It was then, when I saw his eyes go blank, as his blood spread across the ground, that I realized this would happen to me, too. If I tried to stop fighting, I'd die, like he had... No, more than that, if I lost, I was dead. If I won, I might still die. But winning put me at a greater chance of living than losing did.

And so... I fought. For three months, I perfected my Flash Step, my Kugi Punches, and Iron Will. Flash step allowed me to move at speeds just slower than  
the speed of light. I could use Kugi Punches because our father could. He hadn't ever taught me how, but I suppose it was genetic. Iron Will, which became  
Diamond Will and then Divine Will, essentially allowed me to not only make the most use of the energy my body had available, but also undigested food. Normally it takes quite a while for food to be fully processed by your system, but with Iron Will it became possible for me to instantly digest food and convert it into pure energy. Diamond Will uses  
undigested food as well as any stored fat on the body. Divine Will allows me to use both of those, as well as energy I would have in the future. It meant that any food ingested after the fact would go to fueling a past event.

I wasn't as strong then as I am now, but I didn't lose. Seeing that boy's death changed me. No matter what situation I was in, I found a way to win the upper hand. I slowly  
began to work my way up the ranks. I was pitted against stronger and stronger opponents, and the prizes for victory became greater, as did the penalty for losing.

Let me quickly explain how the fights worked. They were run by the Gourmet Casino. It was possible for people who owed debts to the casino to pay them off through these fights. I never heard of one who did, however. In the fights, killing was encouraged only if the crowd supported it. And the crowd always supported it. For two months, I fought without killing, no matter what the  
crowd said. I refused to kill anyone. I wasn't threatened as I had expected to be. I realized it was because it made me just that much more popular. I was the only one who refused to kill. It made me unique.

I turned thirteen, and on that day I won three consecutive battles.

Then, one day, I came into the ring amid a roaring cheer and saw her. The woman who had given me the curse of my addiction. She was down on her luck, ragged and worn out, and I was  
determined to show her who was in charge now. I growled like an animal and stalked forward. I remember  
the look on her face when I echoed her words to me all those months ago.

'Of course you can have that honey, and I'll even protect you while you eat it,' I said, mocking her.  
I used flash step and was suddenly chest to chest with the woman. 'Who's in charge now, bitch?' I snarled to her face. Then I punched her in the gut and she flew into the crowd who pushed her  
back towards me.

I beat her as hard as I could. I hit her jaw, and heard something snap. I broke her nose, and I punched her stomach hard. Then, when she lay gasping at my feet, I pushed her flat on the ground with my foot and looked at the crowd. They understood what I meant. They roared. My first kill, they cheered, 'Death!'

These people lived for the thrill of the moment, and for that moment, I was that thrill.

The smell of blood filled my nose, and I gloried in my newfound power over life. I hauled the woman up by her collar, and stuck my face right next to hers. 'Next time... Don't try to fuck up a kid,' I growled, 'And don't cross me.' I made my hand into a weapon. 'FANG!' I shouted, driving my hand through her chest and out the other side. Then, my hand dripping blood, I  
raised my fist in the air. I drank up the adulation of the crowd. They were shouting my name, which haunts me to this day. 'Lightning Fang strikes,'  
they said. And I loved it."

Here Cat stopped, because she was crying too hard to continue. She kept wiping at her eyes, but the tears were falling too fast. This was the first time she had given anyone the story of her years after running away. She had even refused to tell Ari, saying she only wanted to relive it once.

No one present knew how to handle this situation. The guys were frozen, with awkward looks on their faces, while Ari was wondering if she really know her sister  
well enough to comfort her.

Taking a few deep breaths, Cat collected herself and went on, her tone flat and dead, "I cried about it later that night. I couldn't sleep, because every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. It was like I had tattooed her face on the insides of my eyelids, except it kept changing. First it was her smiling and saying she would protect me, then it became the fear when I said her words back to her, then it was her face as she realized she was doomed... and lastly, my arm spearing her body. I washed it over and over and over but it still smelled of blood. I did not sleep that night.  
The next day, I showed up to my fights as scheduled. And I am ashamed to admit I killed again and again. By this point I could expect to fight about three fights a day, sometimes more,  
sometimes less. I was adored by the crowds now more than ever, but there was no glory or happiness in winning. I still didn't lose.

I turned fifteen, and on that day I killed five people.

I was becoming a woman. My previous outfit had been a t-shirt and shorts, things that were easy to move in. I watched other women who also fought, and noticed that the most popular ones wore more revealing clothing. So my outfit changed accordingly. I now wore a black bikini top (essentially [think nami's outfit]) and a tight but incredibly stretchy pair of dark blue jeans and no shoes. I fought  
barefoot, because any shoes I wore while using flash step had holes within two weeks. It didn't concern me.

As I moved up in the fights, I saw more diverse fighting styles, and more of them could afford weapons. I was fighting against a man with a double katana style when I figured out how to use Demon Cat Claws. They're essentially claws made from the same thing as your fork and knife, Toriko. They could be a foot long, or only a few inches. I used them for defense, as well as weapons. I also bought a small but sharp dagger at about that time. The level of the people I fought raised accordly with my own. Previously I had been fighting amatures. They made obvious moves, they were poor and paying off gambling debts, or they were simply inexperienced. Now I fought people who had been at this for years. Long gone were the days of hulking men who thought superior weight and strength were everything. Long gone were the days of fighting in a ring made of human beings in the dirt. We had an official building where we fought, not far from the church i was  
still staying at. These opponents had strength of mind and body, as well as speed. I had a tougher and tougher time eliminating them. Here, we were no longer encouraged to kill each other as often, but if the crowd wanted it enough, or if we killed by accident, that was acceptable. Human life had no worth, but many of us were old favorites of these people.

I now fought at least five fights a day, and it was usually seven to ten. I was exhausted by the end of the day. These fights took up most all of my time, and certainly most of my thoughts. It was easy to forget the people I fought were human. It was pathetically easy, emotionally at least, to kill them now.

With that many fights, I was nearly always exhausted. I was, however, very well fed. I had no way to wash at the church, so I did it at the fighting rink. They even  
offered me a room in their hotel specifically for the fighters that made it here, but I turned them down without a second  
thought. It was too dangerous. No one could know where I lived. I took a different path each day to avoid being tracked, and I never just went directly home. I had far too  
many enemies by then to do that. No one formed teams in the fights unless it was forced or simply to convenient to ignore. I did not partner. I would  
rather fight three enemies at once than partner, simply because I trusted none of them. I had seen far too many die because their partners had stabbed them in the back. Literally.  
I won, over and over. I went home and fell asleep immediately, exhausted. I was more paranoid than ever, and I took to carrying a cyanide pill with me, so if anyone came for me and I knew I couldn't  
win, I myself would end my life, not them. I wasn't sleeping well, even though I was so tired. Instead of relaxing on my short breaks, I dozed, afraid to really sleep.  
And then, I lost. It had been coming for a while. I was exhausted, and clumsy. My Flash Step wouldn't work, because even though I was getting enough calories, I wasn't sleeping enough to get my stamina back up. Without my full abilities, I couldn't fight effectively. I still won three fights, even without Flash Step or any of my abilities but Demon Cat Claws.

Finally, I went up against an opponent I would have had trouble beating at full strength. She was lithe and not physically strong, but a vicious opponent. They called her Paralasis. She tipped her nails in a type of poison, that, in the faintest traces, would paralyze even a Dharma Horse, and was rumored to work on even the Four Beast who was said to have every anti body that ever existed. It was corrosive, and if you got more than the smallest of amounts in your system, you would die. Even then, you would be sick for days afterwards.

I tried, I really did. But even so, she got past my much weakened guard. Before I knew it, she had cut my cheek with her nail. I felt the numbness set in, but keep trying. She got me twice more, but in that time I also got a pretty good stab in with my dagger in her side. My left arm was useless, and I couldn't find my eyes to blink. She collapsed from blood loss only a moment before I fell unconscious. It  
was declared a draw, which really only meant it was a loss for both of us. I believe the only reason we weren't left to die afterwards was that the crowd had loved the entire performance immensely, and that we were both huge favorites with the well paying customers anyways.

After I fainted, we were both carried away. We did have a small hospital in the vacinity of the fight area, and that was where we were taken. She healed relatively quickly, and was ready to fight again within five days. The antidote to her poison was administered to me, but my body was damaged beyond quick repair by more than just that. Exhaustion, lack of rest, continuous tension, and over taxation of muscles and abilities had lowered my capacity to fight anything. Within a night my condition went from bad to worse, as I developed a high fever. I was delirious, but I clearly remember two men talking by my bed the night my fever finally broke.

"Sir, she's been a great asset to our organization, and the crowds love her. I know this. But do you really want to administer that to her?"

"Of course I do. She should have been able to kick the poison out of her system long ago, considering how physically strong she is, and the level of food she's been eating. So why isn't she recovered? Simple answer really... her stamina can't keep up with what we must, by necessity, demand of our little warriors."

"You do understand, sir, that there is every possibility her body will reject the cells completely. And of course,  
if it works, she could grow too strong for us to control."

"Oh, please, don't make me laugh. We broke this filly's spirit at age thirteen, when we showed her exactly what happens to people who cross us. That boy served his purpose as a warning. We will inject her two days from now. Prepare her." He walked away then, and I thought to never hear his voice again.

The next day when I woke up, I was greeted by the director of the fights here. There were another two arenas aside from this one, and accordingly there were two other local fight directors. We almost never saw any of them, so I knew something had to be wrong. I sat up gingerly and bowed to him as best I could sitting on a bed with my head spinning.

"Ah, that's not necessary," he said to me, "Here's your meal. Eat, and then rest. You have something huge in store for you two days from now."  
It was as he walked away that I realized the man who had constantly said sir last night was him. Too tired to think on it any  
longer, I did as he instructed and ate. Chewing even wore me out, and I fell asleep almost before I finished, but not before I dully realized something was very wrong.

This process was repeated three times a day for the next two days. I was storing energy for whatever was to come, and I didn't speak but instead merely observed for those days. On the third day, I was able to walk. I was escorted to a building I had passed daily on my way to the arena. Inside were several darkened rooms, most empty. I saw only the barest glimpses of these rooms, as the guards were intent on getting me to my destination quickly.

From out of nowhere, a rag was slapped over my mouth, I breathed deeply, and keeled over, unconscious. I now knew why he had only waited two days. I would have fought back otherwise, and tore the building to the ground.

I woke up chained to a medical examination cart, with my head pounding and a gag in my mouth. A few doctors stood around. They spoke not at  
all, and instead rushed around. Finally, after millennia spent in silent agony, three of them walked up to me with needles. Was this the end? I wondered. I couldn't muster up enough energy to care that I was about to die. I wondered if I was supposed to pray. But I knew no gods, and no god would listen to the tainted prayer of a slum kid and a murderer.

When they stuck in the needles, I really did believe I had died. It felt like liquid fire racing through my veins. The gag that had previously been a nuisance now saved my life. I could not bite off my tongue through it, nor bite through my lip and choke to death on my own blood. It was agony, and my brain refused to stay alert for it. I fell unconscious, but the pain followed me. This endured for another three days. When I woke for the last time, my body had been reforged into a newer, sturdier, and more useful form.

I woke still in that room, but now, instead of doctors, there was a table full of food. I smelled it, and was suddenly ravenous. I tried to sit up, and found my body still chained to the table. I concentrated a bit harder, and the chains tore out of the wall and I ran to the food. I had already finished over half of the food on the table when the door opened. I heard hushed voices and clearly smelled their scents. The opening door, the words from their mouths, their movements were creating such a deafening crash of noise I couldn't think straight. So I did what any cornered animal would. I tried to intimidate them. I don't know what you call it, but I called it Intimidation.

She is a woman with fox's fur on her face, which is vaguely jackal shaped. She has animal ears, her teeth are pointed, and her eyes are more human than animal, albeit with slit pupils.  
I've been told she's terrifying, but I think she's beautiful.

Obviously these doctors didn't agree. They saw my Intimidation and ran as though all the hounds of hell were snapping at their heels. I listened to the  
sounds of their flight for much longer than I should have been able to.

I was left alone with my thoughts, the food, and new powers I had no idea what to do with. Realizing I might have to stay here for a while, I ate everything I knew wouldn't last, and conserved what I could. I was still hungry, but not as much as before.

Now I had to begin to understand my newfound abilities. I used Demon Cat Claws, and found it took far less effort than before. Flash Step was not only easier, but far quicker. I could now reach speeds somewhere in between the speed of sound and the speed of light, where before I had only gotten to just above the speed of sound. Fang also required less energy, and pierced far better. Physically I was stronger, my eyesight insanely sharp, my sense of touch super charged, taste enhanced, smell sensitive enough to  
track a scent, and my hearing was so much improved that I could hear the footsteps approaching my containment cell, although the man was at least ten minutes walk from there. I leaned against the table, determined to appear unfazed, as though things like this regularly happened to me.

The wait was agonizing. I was tensed and staring at the door the entire time. Then I sensed the presence behind the footsteps, and I was suddenly tempted to bring out Intimidation again...  
It seemed like eons passed as I waited for whoever, or whatever, it was to open the door. I was relatively sure that whatever they had given me was expensive or valuable, so it was unlikely that I was about to die, but I couldn't be sure.

I was surprised when it finally did open. Instead of appearing cool and collected, I was crouched in an attack position when an older, short  
man opened the door. Had I met him a week ago he would not have stood out in a crowd, but now my instincts were telling me to run. Had I really been an animal, I would have fled then and there. As a human, I stayed silent and still, waiting for him to make the first move.

He took his sweet time. He walked up to the bed I had been strapped to, and sat down. Slowly and luxuriously, he pulled out a cigar, and lit in the same languid manner. He was telling me that not only was I not a threat, but he knew that I knew I was not a threat. This is common in the animal kingdom, a larger, older, or stronger animal ignoring a younger, smaller, or weaker one to show dominance. And I admit that it infuriated me, but this was not a man I wanted to irritate. And so I waited again.

It took him an hour and a few more cigars to even look my direction. And when he did, I felt what a mouse feels when a snake spots it, even though it thought it was safely hidden. He went back to smoking, still ignoring me.

I wasn't safe around him, that I knew. But he didn't know me well if he thought I wasn't a threat. Every time an opponent had gotten this confident, I had beaten them with ease. I would do the same here. I could play his game.  
Now I did straighten, and I leaned on the table as I had before. Screw not pissing him off, I would get him to acknowledge my existence. I was challenging his authority, and he should know it.  
We now played the waiting game together. I would not speak before he did, and he refused to acknowledge my presence until I admitted my inferiority.

Five more hours of this, and I was beginning to feel the effects of my extended fever. At the time, I didn't realize the Guormet cells used so much energy. I was actually pretty ticked about it. I'd gone for longer without food, and my body should be able to handle this with ease.

Suddenly, the old man moved. I started, and watched carefully, muscles tense. He was.. Chuckling to himself?

Crazy old man, I thought. What on earth is going on? He stood up, and stretched, back to me. Another subtle insult. I bristled but stayed silent. Still laughing quietly, he left the room. What on earth had that been about, I wondered. Soon afterwards, they brought more food. Again, I couldn't restrain myself from eating most all of it. I also scolded myself for scaring away my jailers again. I had used Flash Step and Intimidation to get them to drop the food without really thinking, and then eaten.

This time they'd left the door open. I was surprised but curious, and after I ate I took with me what I could and set out to explore. I kept an eye out for the old man, but was mostly concerned about finding a way out. I sensed many others at levels below me, and only a very few who could present a real challenge. I should have been able to escape. My real challenge presented itself in the form of a young boy, about five or so. He was far too young to be involved with these level fights, but there he was. Puzzled, I stopped to watch him. Like me, he was in a sparcely decorated room. Unlike me, he was crying. My heart, which I had thought long dead, began to defrost, although I didn't realize it then.

It was a one way glass, but it was like he sensed me there, because he looked up, straight at me. And, gods damn it, he just reminded me do much of my brother that my heart nearly broke. Not the best welcome back to life party. I was reminded of Yorun, not because this boy's hair was the same color, but because of his eyes. That same warm kindness, filled with tears because Tsuri had yelled at him again.

No, I thought, mentally shaking myself. He was not my brother, and I couldn't save this boy any more than I could have saved my real brother, or my sister. Or even, for that matter, myself. I turned to leave, my eyes focused on the ground when I heard him speak for the first time.

'Mama? Mama is that you?' he cried, getting up and stumbling. My heart broke again. He kept calling for his mother, but that wasn't me. I didn't know what kind of monster his real mother was, but she had to have been even colder than I was to have done this to this kid. He called for her again and again as I tried to force myself to walk away.

But suddenly, I couldn't take it any more. I turned around and used Demon Cat Claws on the door's hinges. It fell inward, the alarm blared, and I grabbed the kid and hugged him the way I wished I could have hugged my brother. He cried and cried, and called me Mama again. I think he knew I wasn't, and I sure did, but I smoothed his hair and told him, 'Mama's right here.' I wanted to promise that I'd  
never leave him alone, but I knew what the alarms meant. None of the guards would dare touch me, but that old man would dare, and more. So I let the kid pretend I was his mom until they actually did bring him. And I left without a fight. I wanted to, to fight for the boy who had given me new hope, but I knew he would only be hurt in the cross fire. It was too dangerous to fight, so I told him I would come back for him. He made me pinky promise, and I was amazed that the guards gave me even that much time. I left under my own power, but I felt like an invisible magnet was dragging me back to that room.  
The old man led me to a new room. This one was far more plush, with a huge canopy bed, tables, chairs, couches, and gaudy, overdone rugs covering the floor. It was an assault on my newly enhanced eyes, but I said nothing and stayed expressionless. I had become an expert at the poker face.

He sat down on the largest, most comfortable chair, again claiming superiority. I settled myself on the bed, ready for another lengthy wait. I was shocked when he finally spoke.  
"You are a cold one. You know you will never see that child again, and yet you promised to meet him again. So cruel, Lightning Fang. I saw what you did to the door. Very impressive. Those doors are designed to hold people whose bodies have been enhanced by the Guormet Cells, and here you are breaking throughthem like it's no big deal. I will graciously let you off the hook this time, but mind you, you will not escape this room. It has the appearance of luxury but is inescapable.

You have probably not realized this, but you were injected with the Guormet Cells. Many die from the self same procedure you had. How do you feel? Fever, sudden cold spells, intense headaches, and soreness can all be symptoms of your body rejecting the cells."

I considered this, with little alarm. If I had not died yet, I did not believe I would. "I'm perfectly fine. No fevers, or any of the symptoms described, sir."

Chuckling again, he said, "Good, you're far too interesting to be allowed to die."

It was here that something very strange occurred. After he said that, I heard a quieter, whispery version of his voice behind it. "And, of course, far far too profitable," it said. I kept a straight face, and carefully smelled out the room. I couldn't get even a whiff of this other presence. And besides that, the voice was his. I would use this to my advantage, I decided. This was the ability to hear the true words behind the filter most people placed over them. I had heard of it, but only in psychics as the like. I was happy to have it, because I was now at the advantage.  
Flash Step means that my mind processes things far more quickly than the average human, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to use it to my advantage. To use my ability I have to be able to process things much faster than I had to at ordinary speeds. This meant that I figured this out in only a few seconds, but it was enough for him to notice.

"Is something wrong," he asked, faking concern, "Is my little speech boring you? Are you ignoring me?"

I answered, "Of course not, sir. I was merely wondering why such expensive things were placed in the room of someone who is bound to die any day."

Laughing at me again, he said, "It's simple. You are bound here by the kindness and extravagances of life here. Therefore you remain, and if you remain here, you fight. It is that simple."  
Under these words his snake's voice said instead, "You can never leave, because no one ever has..."

Ah. So I would die if I stayed, and die if I left. "So," I said aloud, "It's a death sentence after all."

"Yes, it is. You will fight for my entertainment and monetary gain. You will jump if I tell you, kill if I say so. And one day, you will die without anyone to mourn you. It is the way of your lives. Now that we understand each other, let me make this clear. We will not have a repeat of today's incident. Do I make myself clear?" he said, walking out of the room before I had a chance to answer.

So, I was stuck with a psychopath in a reinforced Prision, stuck here for his entertainment. I could live with that, I thought. Killing, after all, was my job.  
I found out soon, however, that I was no longer able to complete my job. I still fought excellently, and I never had another close call like with Paralasis, but I could no longer kill my opponents. I went for the killing stroke, and suddenly they became that little kid, or Yorun, or Kiri... I couldn't kill them after that. I accepted victories, and the crowd was so overjoyed to have their favorite toy back that no one minded. But I knew the old man would be getting angry. I was disobeying his orders. I knew he wanted to see my kill list grow, but I couldn't handle it. I had no more heart for the fights, I got no pride in my victory, no thrill from the battle for life, and no love for the adulation of the crowd. Killing another thinking, sentient human being would be like killing that kid, or my siblings.  
Finally, one day his temper broke. It was my rematch with Paralasis. Both of us had recieved the Guormet Cells, but mine had matched me more thoroughly, I suppose. She was faster, but not as fast as I was. She was stronger, but not as strong as I. She was improved, but I was more so.

I won easily. I was determined to kill this time, but then I saw the fear on her face as she sat there, defenseless, and unable to even raise her arms in defense. I cried out in frustration, and made for the exit again. The crowd was cheering, a roar in my ears, but when he rose, they fell silent. I froze, knowing what would happen next.

"Stop," he ordered, rather unnecessarily in my opinion, since I was already frozen, "You will take her life, or receive punishment."

I had known this was coming, and yet it still surprised me. The fights were simply that. Fights for entertainment. Insubordination, among other issues, were dealt with swiftly and violently, but backstage. If you were not fit to fight the next day, too bad, you were out there anyways. But almost never did any other heads interrupt the fights. It was almost unheard of.  
I turned, but stayed silent. Would I die here? The fights had been my entire life for the majority of the time after I turned ten, so perhaps it was fitting that I die here as my victims had.

"I said, kill her!" he roared. The crowd was muttering among itself now, probably wondering why I refused to do what I had done so many times before. They knew I had been capable of it, and so assumed I still could.

I walked up to Paralasis. I had hoped she might have a bit more fight in her, but instead she had passed out. I shouted, "Fang!" and drove my hand down. The crowd roared in confusion.  
I had missed? Impossible.

Because it was. I hadn't missed. I hit the wall directly next to her face, and so spared her life.

I stood back and placed my left hand on my hip, pointing up at that despicable old man with my right.  
"You don't control me," I shouted, and pointed towards the crowd, "And neither does the opinion of a crowd of people who pay to watch people be forced to kill each other! I refuse to fight for your entertainment any longer. Do your worst, old man!"

I had expected yelling. I had expected objections. But none came. Instead, he started to laugh. It started low, and rose up to a cackling guffaw, echoing off the vaulted ceiling of the arena. This was far more frightening than any threat.

Instead of responding, he snapped his fingers, and a couple of guards came in the take Paralasis away. I could only wish her the best of luck in not dying. I was confident, however, that her chances of survival were far greater than mine.

I calmly waited for the storm that was sure to come. He snapped his fat fingers again, and the door opened again. I was expecting an amazingly strong wild animal, or perhaps a hired killer far above my level. But instead, they brought in a child. The same child who called me Mama...

I couldn't move. I wanted to go to him, as the guardsmen around him left, leaving that poor kid all alone. He was obviously terrified. He stared at the stands around us, at the old man, at the holes created by my previous battle, and, finally, at me. And I saw he was terrified of me. My reborn, as of yet raw heart shuddered at the fear in his eyes. They had forced him to watch the fight. Poor kid.

"You will kill this child, or die yourself, Lightning Fang. Choose now, his life, or yours?" he sneered. He believed that he already knew my answer.

"I choose... neither!" I roared, diving towards the first one to place his trust in me since I'd come here. I grabbed him, and kicked off the ground hard with Flash Step.  
"Fang!" I shouted, knocking a huge hole in the expensive, opulent ceiling I so hated. The captive audience cried out, and a few shrieked as huge chunks of it fell on them. I smiled grimly to myself. Good, I thought, let them feel some of the fear we had felt, let them feel the terror they caused!

I harbored no illusions that I would get away easily, so when I was suddenly surrounded by guards, I was ready. What I wasn't prepared for was when they all fell over seemingly of their own will. I saw the true culprits only seconds later. The other fighters. Shadow, Merlin, Dancing Death, Tiger Eye, Spinner's Needle, Hawk, Lioness, Rose Thorn, and even Paralasis was there, supported by Dragon Hide. I admit I was shocked. We were not a united group. We had no connection with each other, and, honestly, we knew that at any moment we could be forced to kill each other. And yet, here they were, defending me.

"We will escape together or not at all," Merlin said.

"You're cheerful," Lioness said, smiling.

I had never heard their voices, despite our many fights. These were on the (short) list of people I was not allowed to kill at any cost. Those in charge had spent valuable time and money on each of us present.  
I had thought that the old man himself would come after us, but no one did. We escaped, if not with ease, then cleanly. None of us even mentioned setting up camp for the night when darkness fell. I was exhausted, and I knew they would be too, but if we stopped we were dead. Of course, we would likely be dead in any case, but at least for now we could pretend like we had a chance. Outsiders never realize this, but the Guormet Casino's lands stretch on for hundreds of thousands of miles. Once we escaped this boundary, we would be safe. Although we technically belonged to Guormet Casino, the fights had never been formally acknowledged because then they would have to be shut down or tightly controlled. If we got outside of their lands, we could not be caught, unless we returned. The kid stayed quiet the whole time, sensing, I think, the gravity of the situation. Paralasis had been unable to keep up with the pace, so Dragon Hide had lifted her up, and was now carrying her princess style. It was interesting that, unconscious, I saw a surprising weakness about her.

It was mid-way through the third day that we finally reached the boundary of the Casino. We all collapsed at the edge of a huge forest, and slept.

When I woke, I was starving. I hunted and killed a Tree Boar, and roasted it. The smell was heavenly, and woke up the others. We all dug in, and by the end, if we were not full, then we were at least sated. We had allowed ourselves only short breaks for water and air, and then continued. The food and rest felt nice. I was leaning up against a tree when  
Rose Thorn said, "Lightning Fang, what will we do now? We have nowhere to return to, after all."  
I considered this briefly, then said, "We need new names. I refuse to go by a name like Lightning Fang. I refused to kill anymore, unless it is to feed myself, and even then, I will thank the animal for  
the energy I receive. I will obey only myself. And I will live my own life free from the title they demanded I take. My new name will be Cathrine. Cat for short, so I don't ever forget these years and slip up again."

"Yes," Spinner's Needle said, "I will be called Ray."  
"I choose Saya," Rose announced.  
"Raul," Shadow said.  
"I shall remain Merlin," Merlin  
decided.  
"Sakura," Dancing Death murmured.  
"Jess," Tiger Eye declared.  
"Robin," Hawk whispered.  
"Isabelle," Lioness decided.  
"Celene," Rose Thorn said.  
"I'll be Nick," Dragon Hide stated.  
An unexpected, still weak voice muttered, "Can I be Lisa?"

Paralasis was awake, and smiling at us.

"Of course you can. We chose our names, so you should be free to choose yours as well. And now that you're awake we can move on to the next subject. What're we going to do now? I mean, sure, we escaped, but we have no where to go and we don't know anyone!" Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah, I suppose. I don't even remember my parent's faces any more..." Ray trailed off.

"Aye, but at least we're alive. Let's keep it that way. We need to split up." I said heavily.

"It will be necessary," Merlin nodded.

And so we spilt up, and I left with Merlin and the kid who reminded me of my brother. We fled to the Forest of Mists. I knew we'd have to hide out, so we made a house with wood be found, and made the things we needed ourselves. It was in the Forest of Mists that I found my love of animals and learned most of what I know of medicines. Merlin used herbs and "potions" to enhance his natural abilities, and when I realized this could be my advantage as well, I asked him to teach me. He became my teacher, educating me in what he knew of plants and herbs, which amounted to just about everything, and I eagerly absorbed the knowledge he presented me. The kid learned some of it with me, but mostly worked on strengthening himself physically. He couldn't recall his name, so we renamed him ourselves. He became Takimaru."

Toriko produced a muffled strangling sound of surprise, then said, "Guormet Kinghts Takimaru?"  
Cat nodded, "That's what he's doing now at least. To cut a long story short, he got sick despite, or perhaps because of, my negligible parenting skills, and the combined efforts of Merlin and myself barely saved him. He was happy even after a struggle for his life, but I knew a forest was no place to raise a kid, and that a teenage girl and a 50 year old man were hardly qualified to raise a child. I didn't want the kind of life for him I had been given, so I left the forest for the first time in two years. The world had changed, yet much was the same. I heard whispers wherever I went. Heavenly Kings, Toriko, Zebura. Bishokukai, Staajun, Dragon-Eyes. The world had changed while we hid. I went around and kept my ears open. Toriko reminded me of my brother. These Bishokukai were bad news. The Heavenly Kings could be a concern too. I also gathered information on people nearby. I eventually found what seemed like a nice family. I visited, and found people and a home even better than I'd expected. I stayed with them for a week, and decided that they were trustworthy. I left, promising to come back. When I returned, Takimaru trailed behind me.

I hadn't managed to tell him yet what would happen. The family too was surprised. I asked them to sit down, and around their dinner table I explained what I was asking them to do. I would send money every month, providing that they took care of him with it. I told them nothing of my past, and explained only a little of Takimaru's. By some miracle, they believed me, and agreed to take him in. He stayed with them for most of his childhood, and all I know about his disease is what I have discovered since. The money has substantially increased, and goes to the Guormet Knights now, as well as some to the family. I had to force the Knights to take it though. They don't accept money easily, and viewed taking care of him as not a burden, but a benefit. It's my only way of trying to make up for my inability to care for him. I cried as I left that farm, knowing I would probably never see him again. I returned to the Forest of Mists, my apprenticeship, and Merlin. I finished out my training after only three years, when I was about 18.

Soon after Merlin declared that he had nothing else left to teach me, he disappeared. I was used to him leaving for days at a time, but I eventually got worried and searched for him. Unfortunately, I wandered into the part of the forest where the mists dwelled, and couldn't find my way back. I knew, suddenly, that there would be no going back. I wandered, lost, for only two days.  
Towards the end of the second, I sensed the trees beginning to thin. The ground shifted under my feet, and I suddenly emerged into blazing sun light. Squinting and shading my eyes, I look out over an almost desert landscape. Turning, I saw only more of the same beyond me. I saw now why the forest was also called the Forest of Heart's Desire. It had taken me to where I truely wanted to go. I braced myself, and then turned back the way I had been facing originally. I saw a low, crumbling roof, walls overtaken by tough plant vines, a front door open to the elements. Gathering my courage to me, I strode forward to the house in which my brother and I had played, my mother had lived, and my sister had spied our futures for herself.

Entering, I saw all the surfaces were covered in thick dust and cobwebs. I sat at our table, where I had laughed as a child, legs suddenly weak. Our scents were almost gone, with Tsuri's only a bit stronger. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting, but for some reason I began crying. I hadn't though of mother being dead. I hadn't thought that neither sister nor brother had returned.

"If I leave here ever, if I come back never," I sang quietly to myself, remembering an old story Tsuri had told me once. It only made me cry harder. I stood up and kicked the table over, wishing I hadn't come. Covering my face, I sat there and sobbed to myself, all alone in an old, abandoned house no one had lived in for years. When I looked up, I saw a cardboard box that had been hidden by the table. I slowly moved towards it, and touched it gently.

Could it be, I wondered, that Tsuri had left me a gift? I pulled the surprisingly heavy box onto my lap, and opened it. Inside was both my past and my future. I saw a Manila folder, a fancy looking box, and two letters, one obviously years older than the other. I opened the older one first. It read:

Dear Raisa,  
I guess you're going by a different name now, but to me you're still Raisa. I pnly have a little bit to write this letter, so I'll just pit everything on here that i couldnt say ehen you were my child. I know why you and your brother ran away, and I'm proud of you for it. I love all of you. In the box is a gift from your late father, and the folder should help you find your sister and brother, should it prove necessary. I know how much you must hate me. I always loved you and your siblings, but if your father's associates had known that, they  
might have killed you to spite me. Your father, despite his past and reputation, loved you as well. He went to prision so that he might be a worthy father for you. He died there, but he wanted to return to us. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive your poor, blundering parents. Thank you for surviving. I'm sorry I wasnt a better mother. Your father and I are both proud of you, even though we can no longer say it. Your sister is called Dragon-Eyes now, and your brother is called Toriko.

Yours forever,  
Mom

I was not entirely sure how to react to this letter, but I knew that I would have to ask others to forgive me for my weakness in the arenas, so it was only fair that I be willing to forgive others. Yes, mother, I forgive you, I thought. I felt like that letter had released me from hating her, and my father. I suppose, as an adult, I understood then what I had not understood as a child. I put the letter as close  
to my heart as I could.

Next, I opened my gift. It was a slender leather belt with a dragon and a Pheonix engraved on it, as well as an ornate and sharp dagger. These I wore around my waist.  
I opened the folder then. I reached in, and spread several documents across the floor. Three official birth certificates, one for each of us, with a picture of the each of us as both children and adults. Besides that, there was a picture of father and mother together, then one of dad all on his own. Also included were various newspaper clippings of each of us.

"Lightning Fang Strikes Again"

"Fight Arena Legends - Lightning Fang"

"Bishokukai Breaks Into Top Security IGO Building"

"Bishokukai Assassin Dragon-Eye"

"Bishokukai Wanted For Multiple Murders"

"Four Heavenly Kings - Gods Or Mortals?"

"Toriko Brings Back Legendary Ingredient"

She had really cared. And, this made it much easier to track down the two of you. I looked at the photos. In one, the Kiri I remembered grinned up at me, proud of some past achievement, now long forgotten. The older Kiri looked angry and violent, her hair tied back in a high ponytail, with twin katana at her waist. I was saddened that her life had made her so hard edged.  
Toriko's pictures made me smile, however. The kid I remembered smiled back at me from the older one, while a definitely adult Yorun grinned back at me from the newer one. He looked so happy. I silently thanked the man who had saved him.

Wondering if perhaps my mother had written anything else on the backs of these pictures, such as dates or locations, I flipped them over. In one corner of each picture was cramped handwriting, giving only names, but on the back of Toriko's a larger, sloping hand had written a phone number. Could this be, maybe, the number of the man who had taken my brother in?

There were a few more documents in the folder, but I was getting edgy, staying in one place for so long. I was used to the constant movement of survival in the Forest. Storing what I had removed back into the envelope, I froze, suddenly sensing a massive presence moving towards me. The old man? But no, this was even more powerful. Besides, I knew for a fact that he had not left the arenas for years. Then I realized how he had tricked us, and almost laughed. He had bought out someone with a huge amount of power, and had them use a miniature GT robo. With this, we would be far too afraid to attack him, and if someone did, they would die seemingly without him doing anything. Snatching the folder from the floor, I ran. I had no interest in a fight then. I was tired and worn out, both physically and emotionally, and in no mood for a battle. I sensed the presence sending me, beginning the chase, and then giving up as I used Flash Step. I fled, confident they would find nothing in the house to interest them.  
That's about it. When I reached a nearby city, I used a phone to call the phone number on the back of the picture, and I spoke to a man. I have no idea who he was, because he didn't give me his name, and I didn't give him mine. We talked for a while, and I was told to meet up with a man who was a woman whose name I had never heard before. I met her, and apprenticed under her for the next few years of my life. When she retired, I took over. Life was good. I used my newfound connections to try to find my brother and sister. My brother was far easier to find. You'd made quite a name  
for yourself by then, Toriko. I followed your actions, but I was too afraid to actually find you. What if you hated me? I couldn't do it. Kiri was much harder to find. She'd quit the Bishokukai, and disappeared afterwards. I could only assume she didn't want to be found. I had no way to find her, and no sources to consult. I was at a complete loss. I never gave up, but I didn't put as much money or effort in to finding her after a few months if fruitless searching. Until she decided to find me, of course.

It had been a very, very long day, with a class of elementary school kids visiting us. They'd been fascinated by the Viper Dragon, and so of course they hadn't wanted to move on, and had been extremely irritated when we hadn't visited him again. I was getting ready to head out and check up on a few animals in our veterinary clinic when there was a knock on the door. I sent one of my assistants to deal with it, and I'll never forget what a surprise it was when she came back and told me that she'd sent off some chick named Kiri. It took me a second, but when it finally registered in my brain who had showed up, I flew out the door.

"Kiri?!" I shouted, "Kiri where are you?" She surprised me by coming up behind me and trying to hug me, and, not realizing who it was-,"

"She drove her elbow into my stomach and almost killed me," Ari interrupted.

"I told her I'd been training in the way of food gratitude, and that had been why I disappeared. I had been somewhat forced into it because of my past. It was a sort of repentance for what I had done."

Komatsu leaned forward and said, "I remember sensei mentioning that. So why come here?"

"Let me finish my story first and maybe you'll find out," Dragon-Eyes retorted, "Now, my story begins after you guys left and I was alone in taking care of our mother..."


	3. Dragon-Eyes, Bishokukai Assassin

"... Tsuri was seriously ill. She'd caught a disease that had been circulating for years around the country, and it carried off about half of its victims. Our mother was one  
of the lucky ones, and about a week after you guys left her fever broke and she was sleeping peacefully. Unfortunately, we were also out of food. It seemed simple enough to me. I would have to go to the same town you'd gone to and get the items we needed. If only.

I was about a half mile from the city when I noticed a column of  
smoke rising from it. I continued towards it, thinking that perhaps some part of the city had caught fire. I was concerned, but not overly so. I arrived twenty minutes later to find a smoldering wreck where a proud city had once stood. The smoke rose from all of the buildings rather than one, and they were all partially if not

completely

wrecked. I  
rushed forward, thinking that maybe I could help with the rescue effort I was sure was underway. I quickly realized that there was no one left who required rescuing.

A humming, buzzing sound reached my ears as I stood staring at the crushed buildings that had once been a town. Turning in fright, I discovered a huge Mosquito Hawk flying at me. I ducked it's first pass, and a man was suddenly in front of me. He had the strangest pink hair, and a smile twisted by blood lust.

"What do we have here?" he cackled, "A survivor?"

Yanking me up by my hair, he continued, "Oh, we  
can't have that, now can we? Where are your parents, little girl? Dead? Shall I send you to join them?"

Holding me up, he had one of his Mosquito Hawks swept down and grabbed me. It tossed me to its companion, and I screamed. "Are we scaring you? Oh no, what should we do? Maybe I'll just

finish  
you  
off

now!"

Another  
man's voice  
interrupted his tirade. "Tommyrod, either kill her  
or let her go. Your little game of cat and mouse is sickening. We've delivered the message as promised. Let's go."

The Mosquito Hawk dropped me at Tommyrod's feet, and I turned my head to see a tall man with long black hair. He must have been the one talking, my brain realized dazedly.

"Hmph. Fine, Staajun. I'll finish up here."

The black haired man - Staajun - was already walking away. "Five minutes," was all he said.

Again yanking me up by my hair, Tommyrod said, "It would be such fun to kill you now, but I would much rather soak in your fear in the arena. You're coming with me kid."

I struggled against his grip, but all that earned me was a whack on the head with his fist and the loss of half of my hair. He hauled me up with him onto a gargantuan bug  
of  
some

sort and  
flew away,  
the other

man  
following. Like it or  
not, I was leaving  
that  
city.

Instead of having to deal with me the whole ride, Tommyrod used one of his  
bugs to knock me out. By the time I woke up, I was in a heavily forested area. I wasn't sure how I had gotten there, but neither of the men who had caught me was there, so I took my chance to escape. I picked myself up and started to run, and heard a strange roaring noise. Turning, I saw a huge lizard coming towards me. I ran for my life. I turned sharp corners and even climbed trees in an attempt to escape, but to no avail. Godzilla was following me wherever I went. I eventually lost it by jumping in a lake, after which I was chased by a crocodile, a lion, and a crow, all intent on having me for lunch.

"What the hell IS this?!" I shouted, covering my head as the crow (it had to be twenty feet  
tall)  
pecked at me.

Suddenly an arrow flew  
out at the crow,

killing it,  
and  
a rough voice said,  
"Well, I like to call it  
Bishokukai Forest,  
but technically it's their entertainment grounds."

Spinning around, I saw a man, about thirty years old and wearing rough clothing and several scars proudly. He walked up to the crow, and lifted it with one hand.

"EHHH?! How - you - what?" I stuttered, befuddled.

"What, no thank you? You're going to have to toughen up to survive this honey.

"Come on," he turned and bagan walking off in the direction he'd come from. "I'm Kris, by the way."

I trailed behind him, wondering who my savior was.

We eventually reached a huge tree with a door set into it, and a large stone table set outside. I correctly guessed that this was his home.

"Have a seat, I'll just be a minute here,"  
he said,  
going  
over to a  
fire pit. He plucked and prepared the  
bird, taking his time.

Finishing,  
he  
took it and  
placed it on a spit  
over the fire too cook.

"Okay," he said, turning and  
taking a seat across from me, "Well, you're confused and lost, so I'm guessing that you're new. I've only been here a few months myself. They caught me hunting an animal that they wanted, and so I'm here. I'm guessing you got in their way somehow?"

"N-no, not really I was just there and there was a man, Tommyrod and he said he wanted to see me suffer?" she said, hoping she could trust this stranger.

His eyes darkened, and he nodded. "Aye, he's a nasty piece of work. He's not the worst they've got though. The Bishokukai is essentially a group of Bishokuya gone wrong. They kill whoever, whatever, however, and whenever they please. They don't hesitate to wipe out the rarest  
species. And  
they're completely outside  
of IGO  
control."

"IGO?" I  
echoed.

"Yeah, in this

situation they'd be the  
"good guys". They regulate foods, and ensure a steady  
supply of Guormet foods to the nations  
that are members. They enforce the  
Eight Guormet Food Laws, and defend civilians from the dangerous Guormet criminals and animals. Like I said, they're the good guys. But despite all of this, they've failed to rein in the Biskokukai. So they run rampant, destroy anything they want to, and have a hand in most every political dealing out there."

Having been sheltered by our mother's lack of contact with the outside world most of my childhood, these bits of knowledge were completely new to me. I was tired, hungry, and confused, and I was being taught things I couldn't see a possible use for. So, as any other child of 12 would do in this situation, I started  
crying. He looked  
awkward, patting me on the back  
and reassuring me  
that it would be okay. I  
fell asleep there at the table, and when I woke  
up,  
everything had  
disappeared.

*As seen by "Kris" that same day*

The metal door slid open, and a waft of cool air  
rose up to meet him. He stepped inside and  
it slid soundlessly closed behind him.  
A dark figure sat in front of a single monitor with multiple views on it. In the center, slightly larger than the rest, was an image of the girl as he had left her, sleeping on the forest floor.  
The figure straightened, turning towards him. His dark hair reflected the light from the monitor. "So, you told her what I told you to, yes?"  
"Yes sir," he said, dipping his head at the man on the chair.  
"Good. Wouldn't want her to die too soon... What do you think of her?"  
"If I may speak frankly, I think your efforts  
would be better used  
on  
one more worthy. She seems rather...  
weak. Sir..."  
Waving his hand, he said,

"Speak your mind, Kris."  
"Yes sir. She will grow up weak as  
she is now. Why  
not  
abandon her to the trials of the forest and choose another?"  
Chuckling the man  
in the chair rose and turned off the monitor before turning  
back to Kris and the door. "Ah, you cannot see her  
potential yet. Give her some time. I sense that she may be compatable with our new tests."  
Surprised, Kris objected, "If that is your purpose, it would be far kinder to simply let the forest claim her!"  
"Yes it would... But you said it yourself not thirty minutes ago, Kris. I'm the "bad guy", aren't I? Now, let 's go propose this to the others."  
"Yes, sir," Kris said, obeying his master. As he always must.

*End of Kris's POV~ So, who do you think his "master" is?*

I  
woke up to find the tree, table,

and Kris had disappeared. I looked around  
for a few minutes, but even as a kid I was a fast learner.  
No  
one was going to be on my side here.

I'm going to cut a  
long story short  
here.  
Basically I was stuck in the forest training area for the next three months. I learned to be fast,  
and I too learned the value of the Kugi punches. However, I had  
difficulty learning much else. That was, until I defeated a level 50 Cobra Boar.

It took me four hours and about half of my skin, but I did best it. I had developed a theory that if I continued to walk in one direction, I would eventually reach a wall. The animals got tougher the longer I wandered, it seemed. I was laying there, breathing hard, when I was suddenly surrounded by people in white full length coats. I was transported via Seravaptor to their labs.

These guys are essentially the  
doctors on the Bishokukai. They're called  
the  
Vesa. They aren't generally used to  
heal people, because if you need healing you don't belong in the  
Bishokukai.  
Most commonly if you're going to them, it's for a power up. In my case,  
they were working on  
an  
experiment. The idea behind this particular experiment was to make a particularly strong animal's blood, skin,  
scales, feathers, whatever, into an ink that can give you the abilities of the  
animal. It was also based on a theory taken from an ancient script, which detailed signs supposedly of immense power. If you use the essence of a fast animal and use it to tattoo the shape of say a racing horse, then the reciever of the tattoo would become faster.

Like I said though, this was just an experiment. It had failed on several other people, but I was thought to be particularly compatable. My first tattoos were two of the 32 that make  
up my 'belt'. The first two were for speed

and strength, ones with ingredients that were easy to  
find and prepare.

The testing revealed unexpected results,  
namely when I  
kicked their asses in an attempt to escape. After restraining me, with much  
better restraints, they conferred and  
concluded that the tattoos were effective. Therefore, they completed a slightly more complex set, my 'belt'. It has  
symbols for deftness, intelligence, swift healing, and luck. It was said that the symbols became more powerful in this ring shape.

I was released, as well as a ton of extremely dangerous animals, as well as some food, water, and a few daggers. Cause you know, when you think testing on small children you wouldn't want anyone to die of starvation or anything. I mean that would just be cruel.

Anyways, I soon learned that I was expected to defeat them in small series, whereupon I  
would receive my 'reward'. This was occasionally

weapons, tools, or food, but most commonly it was an extremely  
rare animal I was to defeat.

After I beat the beast, the Vesa  
would create a  
new ink with the animal, and once they had the necessary inks they would find me and take  
me to the labs. I tried to fight it

each time, but I was always outsmarted. Sleeping gases, medication in the foods I ate, animals released that would knock me out. I  
recieved the tattoos whether I liked it or not."

Here Ari stood up, saying, "I'll show you, it's easier."

She took off her jacket, revealing a band of fabric similar to her sister's. The 'belt' was one of two tattoos in view, thirty two individual signs bound together by a gold colored chain design. Her bellybutton was encircled in the twisting design of an old willow tree. She flipped her loose hair to the front, and turned  
around. Now everyone  
could see the full extent of the  
experiments.

On her back were two separate designs, one a  
huge blue flamed pheonix whose wings fanned along  
her shoulder blades  
and which covered only a little under 2/3 of the skin on her back. The other was a palm sized  
diamond colored dragon, curled up to form a

spikey, winged circle.

She turned back around and wiped previously unnoticed make up from mid-thigh on her left leg, revealing a rose  
with a thorny stem circling her leg thrice.

The truely strange thing about these tattoos wasn't that they existed, but the strangely life-like quality around them. They also radiated intense power, much as the animals themselves would have, were they given the chance.

"That seems like overkill," Coco noted.

"Yeah, but don't forget the main reason for the testing was to see what worked and what  
didn't. Obviously the belt was first,  
and I got the Pheonix next.  
It's there for speed and, supposedly it gives me the ability to stand up  
when anyone else would have died. I can also call up fire  
along my body, summon wings  
of fire, and I never get burns.

Then the tree, which represents standing strong in the  
face of the tempest. It also means I can sense when  
someone is a good person or not, and I have excellent knowledge of forestry through it.

Next was the dragon tattoo. It gives me heightened  
senses, and my nails are abnormally strong and fast growing.

The rose was a later addition. I'd though I was done with the enhancements, but I once again woke in that room. That time I recieved a tatto somewhere other than my torso, which was surprising. The rose, interestingly, changes with my mood. It's typically red, but it can be interesting to use. When I get really angry  
and it turns black, I can call up thorny vines to  
tangle my opponents. It  
also does... Other things," she finished, smirking.

"So  
un-beautiful," Sani complained.

"Okay, but then what about your  
eyes? I thought that wasn't  
possible?****" Komatsu asked.

"Aye, normally it would be, but this was specially done from the  
script.

It required a specific kind of ink,  
which required insanely specific recipes. This, of course, meant I had to fight the beasts it would come from. A species thought to be extinct by now, the Saimese  
Dragon."

Cat gasped, "Are you sure? A Saimese Dragon?"

"Yes... But sister, I killed them both."

Another gasp from Cat, "Them? Oh gods!"

"What's so special about them? I've never even heard of them," Zebura scoffed.

"Well, for one, it's one of few species that always has two young at a time.  
Each dragon is born with an identical twin of the same  
color. They come in all  
colors of the rainbow, and will only mate with another of the opposite color  
on the color wheel. They are never separated from their twin by more than a  
mile. Also, when a female chooses her mate,  
their twin mates with her sister's chosen mate's brother. The gold and silver ones are said to mate only  
with their twin, who is the gold if they are silver, silver if  
they are gold. What I wouldn't give to find a live pair.." Cat mused.

"Yes. And so I killed off an entire species to get these eyes. I was put into a part of the  
forest I'd never seen before. It was probably the oldest part, with trees easily a hundred feet tall. The floor was littered with leaves but not much else. I walked in, in awe of these huge creations of nature, and noticed a gold glint among the leaf litter. Leaning over to pick it up, I noticed a  
sudden movement on my right, and dodged just in time as a huge  
silver head with leg  
sized ivory teeth clamped down on where I had been not moments before.

I  
landed on a branch about ten feet up and heard a rustling in the leaves to my right.  
Glancing up sharply, I saw a golden dragon rushing  
towards me. I jumped again, and abruptly all sound ceased. Turning, I saw only trees rising to brush the stars  
on all sides.

A snapping sound alerted me to movement on  
my right. Turning my head, I saw the gold and silver dragons for the first time. They shimmered in the low light, seeming to cast a glow of color around them. They were in the style of  
Chinese dragons, but with less serpentine bodies and huge wings. The female, the silver one, was larger than the gold male, but both easily reached eighty feet apiece.

I drew two daggers from my sleeves, getting into position. I threw  
myself upwards, and observer the situation from above. Then, I noticed that the gold female

had disappeared. Turning, her eye met mine, and I saw that she wasn't your average everyday  
lizard. She was probably as intelligent as any one of us here.. Well maybe she was smarter  
than Zebura."

"BITCH ARE YOU GETTING COCKY  
MOTHERFUCKER?!" Zebura roared, rising to his feet.

"Wanna go, big guy?" she taunted, sneering.

"HEY! Shut up, all of you, or we'll end up destroying the tower and I  
don't know about you, but I can't pay for that much." Cat interjected.

Looking at her sister, Dragon-Eyes sighed and sat back down. Zebura looked as though he would very much like to  
continue this argument, but instead said, "That's what I thought bitch. Damn cocky."

"Anyways, I beat them soundly. They hid behind the trees, dodged behind me while their partner taunted me from the  
front, and used every wily trick in the book. I first killed the female, then the male. That  
was  
when Vesa showed up.

They had to be started at 6:00 PM, and had to end at precisely  
6:00 AM. They made the inks in front of me, and when they were done, they went at my eyes with  
needles. I wasn't given any anesthetic because it would  
stop the herbal mixtures I'd been forced to eat earlier from being effective. It felt like fire being injected into my eyes. The  
first dragon, the silver one on my left eye, was finished exactly 1 minute  
before midnight, as the directions had said to do. The golden one was started at exactly a minute after midnight, and finished just at six.

Unlike before, where I had been instantly released into the forest, I was held for a week with a dark cloth over my eyes. Again, this was according to the directions. They're lucky I didn't fight back. Had I, they would have  
lost. These idiots had created something they could no longer control. Or so I thought.

While it was  
true the Vega could not have won in a fair fight against me, they didn't have to. At the slightest  
sign of resistance, the room would have flooded with Bushokukai fighters. And those I couldn't have  
fought.

They kept me in a small room with  
only a bed and a chair for that week. There was a bathroom attached to the room, so the only time I was in the presence of another human was  
when they delivered my food. I attempted to interrogate everyone who came in,  
but to no avail. I was ignored completely as my eyes healed.

At the end of the seven days, I was taken from my room to another. I thought that I would be taken to the room where they gave me the tattoos, but it seemed to me that we were going in the wrong direction. I entered a sweet smelling, steam filled room, and was given over to a  
small group of women. They were told to bathe me, and to make sure that if they were going to remove the

blindfold to ensure my eyes remained closed.

Their hands on me were timid and gentle. "Come with us,  
my lady," they said.

I was unused to human interaction after all this time, but I knew I  
wanted to appear in charge. I chuckled and said, "I'm no lady."

They responded by laughing softly and relaxing a bit. I had to take two baths, one to loosen up the accumulated dirt of three months, and  
another to actually rinse my hair and remove all the dirt from my body. Throughout all  
of this, my blindfold was removed twice. I kept my eyes closed, as instructed, and when they washed my face and, unless I was much mistaken, applied makeup to it, it was tied on again.

I was thoroughly dried, then led to another, adjoining room. There, I was dressed in some sort of fancy shirt and  
shorts, along with knee-high boots. My fingernails were painted, and my hair was done put up. I had to restrain myself  
from  
fidgeting, but these women were kind and provided my first human conversation in months. So I put up with all  
of it without protest.

I was eventually led out and given back to my wardens. We took a series  
of turns and walked for what had to be thirty minutes before a voice came from in front of me and slightly to the left. "Sir, may we enter?"

A voice that seemed vaguely familiar emanated from what I could only  
assume was a room. "Yes, bring her in."

I strode into the room, back straight,  
posture defiant, but behind that was fear. Much like my sister here, I had gained the ability to sense animal capture levels as well as humans'. And I certainly didn't like what I was sensing in this room. Thirty major opponents, and, scattered throughout the room, a variety of  
much weaker presences.

A group arrayed around a table, perhaps? I did not like entering this room with no idea of  
what was going  
on, so I reached up to my blindfold, and the hand on my arm became a restraint. Instead of fighting it, I  
gave in. There was no telling what these presences would do if I showed any signs of struggling.

I was  
led to a sort series of steps, and as I walked up them I got the idea that this was a platform. We walked a few more steps, and then I was made to turn to face the room. Blindfold still on, I sensed their calculating gazes on me. A  
Vega came up behind me, and tore the blindfold off dramatically.

I heard gasps and  
mutterings around the room as they saw my eyes. Looking down, I saw I was indeed wearing high heeled, knee length, black leather boots. I was also wearing dark blue cut off shorts that displayed my rose tattoo. The "shirt" was in fact a band of  
gold cloth barely covering my chest, coupled with a long jacket that reached past my knees, with sleeves to my elbows. It was  
black, with the entwining bodies of a  
gold and red dragon on the back. Dramatic, yes. If I had to guess, I would have said my eyes  
were lined in black kohl and blue eyeshadow. Those ladies had certainly known their art well.

The table  
consisted of mostly men whose shirts could just barely cover their muscles. They had the look of fighters who enjoyed the killing as much or more than the battle. I noted both Tommyrod and Stajuun. Tommyrod looked, for no apparent reason, rather  
sulky. Stajuun and a few other men wore their best poker faces. Others leered at my body in ways that  
made me uncomfortable. A few seemed bored. So this was the infamous Bishokukai. Interesting.

Then I noticed something strange. I had never been very good at reading people or their intentions, yet I  
could read all of these expressions. And, of I looked for long enough, I could get a deeper sense for their inner selves. Tommyrod,  
for example, seemed to me to have a certain, unsettling  
love for hurting others. A closer look at Staajun revealed to me a calmer, kinder  
personality, albeit one with little patience for idiots or those who got in his way. And, perhaps, a hint of something  
darker behind that. Interesting.

Abruptly, a voice from behind me said, "Move your jacket. I want to see in full what I have payed for."

My muscles tensed for battle, and I felt my breath catch before schooling my features into a mask of  
calm. I had not sensed this presence. This voice demanded obedience with the tone of one used to it. I  
shrugged my shoulders and tossed the jacket to the side. A breath of cool air traced its way along my back, and I fought a shiver. I could feel his gaze upon my back.

"Well they certainly look impressive, I'll give you that. Now, face me."

I turned slowly, wondering who this was that I had not  
sensed him behind me. When I finally faced him, I saw why. He was only  
a projected silhouette on the wall. I could see nothing of this man, and  
this unsettled me. The men in the chairs behind me, who had been whispering and speaking among themselves prior, we're now  
deathly silent. Perhaps he, then, was their leader.

"Yes... you have done well. However, I require a demonstration if your abilities. Being him out," he demanded.

The door opened to admit a strong man of about 24. He smirked and lept onto the  
platform, then stalked towards me. "Is this the one, boss?"

"Yes. Do your worst," the silhouette said,  
leaning back.

I turned to face my opponent, mind whirling. So, they would not let me off easy. I feinted to the right, and he took  
that as a real attack. I twirled out of his way as he charged, then tripped him with my leg as he passed by. He crashed to the floor, but bounced  
back up. The men at the table laughed and jeered at him. His face flushed, and he came  
at me more carefully this time.

I dodged left, then  
right, and his fists sailed past me. I swung up and knocked him in the jaw. He reeled back, cursing. More jeers, and he utterly  
lost his head. He flew at me in a torrent of flashing fists and kicks, and I slid around his blows. The force of one of them knocked him slightly off balance, and I threw a five ren kugi punch into his stomach before he had time to recover himself. He flew into the wall, and then  
slumped to the floor.

I heard the roar of voices behind me, but suddenly it felt as though another presence  
was in control of my body. Coldly, I walked up to the man, and, grabbing him by the collar, lifted him up  
to my eye level. I looked straight into his dazed eyes, and suddenly my eyes emitted a glowing gold and silver light, and I saw all of his past. He was  
a hired mercenary who came from a family who would be ashamed to know how far he had fallen. And now he  
was forced to see all of his actions through  
another's eyes. His torture of people who did not deserve him sickened him, and he cried out at this sudden change in perception. I frantically  
pulled out of his mind, and saw he now had the outlines two dragons, one silver, one gold, on the opposite sides mine were, whose tails began at his jawline, then continued so that the back feet cupped the bottom of his eyes, and each head met at the center of his forehead. I reeled backwards,  
barely registering the horror and sorrow in his eyes.

His thoughts! His past! Inside my head pressing down on my own!  
I fought back hands clenching the sides of my head in an  
attempt to keep it from bursting like an over ripe fruit, tears streaming from my eyes now as I fought for my sanity. I fell to my knees and braced myself with my  
arms, gasping. His thoughts slowly faded, leaving behind only his past, lacking teh force of his mind behind them.

And now I could hear the men at the  
table.  
They were in an uproar, no one quite understanding what was going on. I took several gasping breaths to settle myself, and rose unsteadily to my feet.  
I felt the mood in the room  
grow tenser, wondering what my next action would be. I turned and bowed to the silhouette projected on the wall.

"I hope we entertained you, sir," I said, "Now, can you explain to me what I just did?"

The figure was quiet for a few moments, then said, "I myself am not entirely sure.  
Is the man alive?"

"Yes sir," one of the hooded Vesa reported.

"Good... Now, explain to me  
why one of my men has  
been reduced to a sniveling imbecile."

"W-well, to be honest sir, we were not expecting that either. We can only speculate, sir,  
but we think this had to do with a power the Saimese Dragons are rumored to have, sir."

"And that power is?" he said, impatient.

"Supposedly they  
have the power to make  
anyone look at their lives through another's eyes and feel remorse. All of their memories, their thoughts, their best kept secrets. Everything, sir."

And suddenly  
the figure in the screen was laughing. It was cold and terrifying, with no warmth. He said, "I'm so glad you brought her in, Stajuun, Tommyrod. Stajuun, see to her training. I will expect daily reports." With this, the screen went black.

I was shaking from the sheer amount of energy I'd expended to use the dragon's ability. I forced myself to remain standing, and as the black haired man rose, I  
went to him. Silently, he led me from the room. I felt a menacing gaze following us, and turned my head and my eyes met Tommyrod's. I saw a black, malignant fury in them,  
directed at me. Something about this encounter had given him reason to hate me, although I wasn't sure what. I had made an enemy today.

Stajuun began chuckling as we  
walked down  
the hall together. "Ahh, it's good to see Tommyrod taken down a few pegs. I'm Stajuun, by the way."

"I-I'm Kiri, sir," I muttered, shy.

"Just call me Stajuun, Kiri.  
Almost everyone goes by their first names here. I'll take you to your rooms, since you look like you're about to collapse."

He led me through a twisting maze of hallways, pointing out rooms as we passed them. "There's the main hall... The training rooms... The sparring areas..."

We reached my rooms about twenty minutes after leaving the room with the platform. Our pace  
hadn't been particularly fast, but neither had it been slow. I also got the impression that we had gone through only a small portion of the Bishokukai base. He opened my door  
for me, and waved me through.

"I'll be back for you at eight, use the clock on the dresser to ensure you're on time. I will not tolerate lateness," he said,  
turning to  
go back the way we'd come. I stated after him as he disappeared into the gloom of the stony keep.

I turned to find a lavishly decorated room, but I could only focus in the bed. I paused only to remove  
the boots before collapsing on the bed.

I woke up at five o'clock, thoroughly rested. I figured that I'd fallen asleep at about five the previous day, so I had slept a full twelve hours. Getting up, I noticed the room was indeed lavishly decorated and brightly colored, mostly with gold but with decorations of red, black, and various shades of gray. I went into the  
adjacent room and saw an equally over done bathroom with a huge tub and shower. My first order of business was to use the shower, since I wasn't sure when my next would be. Stajuun  
had said these rooms were to be mine, but perhaps that was only a slip of the tongue, or a deception.

I finished and went to see if I had any other clothes to  
change into. I  
found a new but indentical outfit in the wardrobe. My shoes had also been replaced with other, similar ones but with even more outrageous heels. I couldn't see how I was expected to fight or even walk in these things,  
but I wore them nonetheless.

Turning, I found myself confronted by my own reflection in the mirror. I walked up and tossed my over coat thing off, and observed my tattoos. The last time I had had the luxury of observing myself in the mirror for as long as I pleased had been before the two of you left. I was much changed. Where my body had before  
spoke of an awkward girl barely entering womanhood, it now spoke of hard living and, were anyone to see it, their gaze would be captivated by the tattoos instead. I drew closer, almost  
pressing my nose to it. I was most angry with what they had done to my eyes. I had liked looking like my mother, because I knew she was considered very beautiful. I could see that no  
one would  
call these eyes beautiful. In each one a dragon curled around my pupil, it's body covering most of the boundary between iris and whites. The right was gold, the left silver. They were like the Saimese dragons, but in  
miniature. They formed a vaguely "C" shaped figure in my eyes. I sighed, then turned to the rest of my tattoos. These I liked more, since they could be considered beautiful.

When the knock in the door finally came, I was already ready and was investigating my room. Without waiting for me to answer, Stajuun opened the door. Seeing me  
already up, he cocked an eyebrow and told me to follow him. We went to the dining hall, and a woman served us there. It was all fantastic food, although this may have been my raging hunger  
speaking. That move had taken more out of me than I thought.

Leaving, Stajuun asked, "So, did you enjoy the food?"

"Y-Yes it was very good," I replied.

"It 's nice to hear  
that from someone who isn't worried I'll kill them if they say it's no good," he chuckled.

"Oh! Did you make it?" I exclaimed.

"Yes and no. I made parts of it. I'm still learning, after all," he said.

"It was  
fantastic. I'm  
sorry if I seemed a little rude in there, Dragon's Sight took more out of me than I thought..." I apologized.

"Dragon's Sight?" he asked, " Did you decide to name it that? Well, it's certainly appropriate."

He led the way into another room, this one filled with throwing  
knives, swords, bows, and spears. This, then, was their weapons room. He grabbed a few daggers from a table near the door, then led me to a room connected to this main one. There were three, all  
protected by huge steel doors and keypads that must serve as locks. He placed his body so that my sight would be blocked, and entered a code. The door clicked open, and I followed him inside.

The  
inside smelled of old leather and parchments. He led me to the very center of the room, where an old book, two katana, a belt, and two sheaths lay on a raised pedestal. I gasped as I recognized the book. This was the book they'd used to find the  
recipes and patterns for my tattoos!

Staajun nodded and said, "Yes, this is the same book. It was discovered, at great risk, in an ancient tomb." He handed me both of the swords. I held then gingerly, afraid Staajun would take an accidental movement as an attack. Looking at me, he nodded  
and grinned, "I thought so. For everyone who has attempted to carry those swords, whispers invaded their minds and drove them crazy. I'm correct in assuming you hear nothing?" When I shook my head, he  
continued, "We've only managed to translate about a fifth of the words in there, and the project was mostly abandoned when we realized it wouldn't lead us to the rare ingredient god. So, the swords have been  
sitting here gathering dust for years now. The boss said to give them to you, so there you go." he lifted the left one slightly, He passed me the sheaths and belt as well, then showed me how to put it on. His hands on my waist made me wary. I was about fifteen,  
and I knew about men by  
then. I suppose I was lucky he didn't try anything..."

Her voice trailed off as she remembered. A few lies, she thought, would be acceptable. Besides, no one needed to know about that. That was her secret, and hers alone.

"Anyways, I was given swords. I wasn't taken over by the whispers Staajun had spoken of, but I did sense them in a way. It was like... an aura around the swords that was tasting my spirit. I sensed something  
enter my mind, but it didn't feel malevolent in the slightest, so I ignored it. I felt it poke around, then recede while Staajun spoke.

He gestured for me to follow him out, and the door hissed closed  
behind us as we walked down the stone hallway. They certainly didn't care much for decor, or perhaps furniture and the like were quickly destroyed if they were there. At any rate, the walls were bare of all decoration. Maybe that was the true motive, I mused, the lack of decoration's purpose, perhaps, was  
to emphasize the difference from the rest of society. Why, then, was my room decorated?

I was led to another room where a range of weapons were arranged in groups. Another armory, I wondered? Suddenly,  
Staajun flung the daggers he had been holding towards a dark corner of the room. I heard the cling of metal against metal, and a man stepped out of the shadows. He was carrying a huge Broad sword, and, for no apparent  
reason, smiling. What on earth? I was beginning to think that all of the Biskokukai were crazy.

Chuckling, he said, "As predictable as always, Staajun. You make far too many extraneous movements."

I  
was astounded. A man who would criticize Staajun? I was even more astounded when Staajun responded with a smile and a shrug.

"What do you expect? I have to be able to defeat my sensei at some point," he said, "But to get to the point, I have a new student for you."

The other man grunted and said, "Another  
one who will waste my teachings and abuse their weapon?" he sighed, then turned to me, then took a second look, "Perhaps... come here girl."

I strode forward, chin  
raised defiantly. I would not bow to this man, no matter what Staajun called him. He only smiled at my show of defiance, then titled my chin up further to look my on the eyes. "Aye, she'll work."

This, unlike anything  
before, seemed to surprise Staajun. "You will, sensei? Are you sure?"

"Do I look uncertain to you, boy? I'll make a warrior out of her yet! You just watch me do it!" he continued to grumble as he went over to the  
wall and dug out the daggers from earlier. "Girl, you have a name?"

"Yes... sir. I'm Ari," I said. I had already decided. I would leave the old me behind, and forge myself anew. This would require a new name, for my new attacks, for my new skin... for my new life. If Staajun even noticed, he said nothing.

"Well then Ari, what do you  
know about fighting? Ever been in a battle before?"

"Only what I learned from the training forest, and I have only been in a  
battle insofar as the ones in the training forest count."

"So, none at all. Humans and animals are at completely different levels. Your most dangerous opponent will never be an animal, because animals lack the more complex  
thought patters and higher level thinking of a human. Whereas a human can surprise you, an animal, once understood and categorized, should not. Got that?"

"Uh, well... Yes?"

He chuckled, then said, "We're  
training. Get over here. Anyone can carry an great sword, but you do the weapon disservice if you don't learn to use it properly. But to understand your swords will probably take more than it usually would, because no one's ever carried these swords before. They're not legendary, because no one else knows how to use them. So it's like you're carrying a wild card in your hands. That's  
good and bad. Good in that no one will be able to predict your moves, and bad in that I can't really  
train you in the use of it!" he laughed loudly and turned from me.

"So can you teach me the basics at least? I need to know what to do with these damn things. I can hold them, but that doesn't mean I can swing them at anything  
effectively. And those knives."

"What the hell do you want me to do exactly?"

"Teach me how to kill," I said. I knew what i wanted, and if this man wanted to know what i desired, he would.

"No. I will  
teach you how to fight, and you will do what you will with the knowledge given. I regret that this is your goal, but I've already said I will teach you how to fight. Let us begin."

He grabbed a sword from a nearby table and I tensed, expecting an attack. Instead, he showed it to me an asked, "What do you know about this sword, just from looking at it?"

"It's a deadly weapon?" I  
asked.

"Well, yes and no. That's not all it is. It can be a  
method of communication, a message of peace, a tool."

"How? It's used to kill. It has no other purpose."

"And that is where people fail to make full use of their swords. If I fight you, we both learn about each other. If  
you're standing, say, twenty feet away, and you see me put down my sword, I've just told you I don't want a fight. If I was tied up with ropes, I could use the sword to cut them.

I was strong. I was ready. And I  
would prove it.

I strode into the meeting halfway through. I threw the doors open, and stalked in. "Tommyrod," I called into the sudden silence, " I challenge you. If I win, I will be a fully fledged Bishokukai, no?"

A roar filled the room, objections coming from all sides, chairs clattering to the floor as the Bishokukai at the table rose. Tommyrod looked up in eager anticipation. Staajun, on the other hand, look  
furious. The figure on  
the monitor said, "Stop." And so they did. Every Bishokukai in teh room froze and turned to the screen. "Let her fight... Entertain me, my dear."

I laughed and tossed my head. "I hope I do, sir." My wings spread from my back and I launched  
myself to the stage in one leap. Tommyrod ambled up the steps, taking his time. "So, Kiri.. Are you sure about this? It's probably not too late to run scared, you know. I mean, you know I'm going to win, right?"

I laughed. "Tommyrod,  
you do realize I've grown up quite a bit since we first met, don't you? I doubt you could force me to do anything. Fight me, you coward. You should be the one running."

"Ah," he said, "you have grown.. so how about, if I win.. I get a kiss?"

I drew back slightly in surprise, which was exactly what he wanted. In my split second of surprise, he charged. I stumbled backwards as his dagger came within inches of my face. I cursed myself  
as I  
tried to regain my footing. He had me off balance within seconds of the beginning of our battle. I fumbled to draw my swords, then dodged again as he threw a dagger at my side. I gave up on the swords and backed off to give myself space, then felt  
something sticky and grasping at my back. Turning my head, I found my cheek stuck to the side of the something. Suddenly, a huge hairy leg came into my field of vision. Gods no, I thought. I was already in his trap. A huge spider's web, and somehow I  
didn't think that the spider itself was benign.

"Oh,  
so brave," I drawled, trying to buy time, "A trap. Yes,  
you're obviously the better fighter, since you need to use this to  
catch me."

He had the nerve to chuckle. "Honey, it's  
not just about being braver, or faster, or even stronger than your  
opponent. It's about winning. So when do I get my kiss?"

"Never,"  
I grinned, slicing  
through the web and the spider.

He made a  
face. "I liked that one! Why on earth did you cut her?"

"Well,  
let's think! She was only about to bite me in half. Gee, you're  
right, maybe I did overreact," I replied bitingly. We  
were  
circling and feinting, trying to catch each other off guard, looking  
for our opening. I'd managed to grab a concealed knife in my shirt  
and cut the web, but only barely. I knew I couldn't expect to be able  
to pull that off again.

I made the first move this time.  
Running forward, I tried a slash to the stomach, but instead hit only  
empty air. Tommyrod had dodged to the side at the last second, and my  
back was wide open. He rammed the knife into my side, and I only just  
managed to avoid getting it through my organs. I jumped away, and the  
pain finally registered. I slumped to the ground, vision going black  
on the edges.

Tommyrod again sauntered up. "So, give in  
yet? Tell me I've won. Grovel, and I'll let you live as my  
concubine."

I sent up a quick prayer for luck, hoping  
that Staajun was right. I pulled the knife out of my side and threw  
it at  
Tommyrod in disgust. For just a second, my vision went totally black and I fought for consciousness. As abruptly as it had started, the pain stopped. I slumped, pretending to black out. I heard Tommyrod bend down and so when his fingers caressed my face, I was  
prepared. He stood and turned, laughing.  
"Arrogance, my friends.  
As you can see, I have won. She didn't respect me... And so," his voice cut off abruptly  
as I slashed a huge gash in his back from right shoulder to left hip. He half turned, then  
fell. I stood over his body, panting, then sheathed my sword and removed my jacket. All could see that my wound was completely healed. Turning, I faced the man on  
the screen.

"Yes, sir. Arrogance. I gave him three chances to kill me, and he took none of them. Of course, he would have failed... but he could have tried at the very least. I promise not to fail you in the same manner... boss."

The shadowy figure seemed to be thinking. It sat there for a minute, and I waited patiently. Finally, it laughed. "Well. Tommyrod always was uncontrollable. Fine, Kiri... You are a Bishokukai, now and forever. You serve me, and my orders are thus: pursue foods of the  
highest level for me, for us, and kill anyone in your way. A question... How did you heal so quickly?"

"Ah. The tattoos. The phoenix one makes me unkillable, theoretically, and one of the belt ones makes me heal quickly, boss."

"I thought as much. Staajun," it called, "Take care of our newest recruit, will you?"

"Yes sir," came his response. The screen went blank as a huge group of Vesa  
swarmed the stage. They grabbed Tommyrod's body and took him  
out of the room. I wondered if they would be able to revive him, then decided I didn't care. I turned to face the Bishokukai as a whole as I waited for who knows what.

A man on the far end  
of the room was the first to speak up. "New blood... I suppose we need it."

"No we don't," another snapped, "And this creature just killed a valuable member. And what was that business the last time? She's out of control."

I snarled. "I am not "that  
creature". I am called Kiri. And you will notice that I have harmed no one in my time here but those who sought to harm me."

The man who had called me creature reguarded me for a minute. "Humph. Fine, I have no objections... Staajun, see that this one learns proper respect for her elders, will you?" With that, he stood up and left the room. The others stood as well and followed, until it was only  
Staajun and myself left.

"So, you're under my care once more, Kiri," he said, leaning back  
in his chair.

"Yes. Hopefully you will be overseeing my training this time?"

"Well, yes, since there's no one else to teach you this... We leave  
tomorrow morning, and don't ask what we're doing. I'm going to put you in blind and see how you do. Think you can handle it?"

"But of course," I said. I wasn't sure what he had planned, but I was sure I could handle it.

He nodded and walked off, leaving me  
to find my way back on my own.

*****

The next morning, I woke early and headed to the training hall. Upon arriving, I found that he was already waiting for me. Next to him stood the strangest animals I had ever seen. They were vaguely horse shaped, but  
instead of fur they had  
a leathery looking hide, bird's legs, and bat's wings. I walked over to Staajun.

"So, is that our ride?" I asked.

"Yup. You ready to head out?"

"I have everything I need," I responded.

"Good. I only have one instruction for you. Follow  
my instructions to the letter."

I decided it wasn't worth it to ask what one earth was going on, so I went with it. We got on the horse things, which Staajun refused to give a name to, and flew for about an hour to I don't know where. We set up camp for that night, and I was still without any idea of what we were doing.

I woke to what I first thought was an earthquake. The ground itself was shaking, and I barely got out of the tent. It was still night outside, and so I squinted into the night. Suddenly, I noticed something scraping against my shoulder. I grabbbed at it and saw that it was a note. It bore only one word, kill, in curly, broad strokes. Staajun was gone, and his instructions were to kill? But there was nothing to kill, I thought, until a huge paw came through the air and smashed into my side. I flew into the ground, and understood the note. I was to kill whatever this was. I turned to confront a huge hedgehog. Under normal circumstances, I would have thought it cute, but it was about 20 feet tall with glowing red eyes and it's spikes were about as tall as I was. And, of course, it was attacking me.

It was nothing like a challenge. I drew my sword, which I had not taken off that night, and cut it's throat. It didn't even move when I killed it. Was this all I was expected to do? Staajun's voice suddenly came from behind me. "Well. You did learn from sensei after all."

This was my first challenge. I was insulted at the time, but this creature had been on our hit list. We took it back, and gave it to the chefs. Staajun did not say whether I had passed or not, but we went out on missions many times after. We were successful every time, and I accumulated fame and a few scars. I didn't realize it then, but I suppose it was training for later, for we only wnet after animals. And my only rule was to follow his instructions at all times.

By and by, there came a time when Staajun again refused to give me the details of our job. I took it to mean that he had been told not to. We headed out on our flying steeds, and arrived at a huge mansion far out in a swamp. I was confused, but followed Staajun as he approached the mansion. Two men in black suits waited for us to approach. As we drew up to them, the taller of the two said, "Can I-" the rest of his words were cut off by Staajun's sword in his throat. The other one he slew as he called for backup.

"What are you doing?!" I exclaimed.

"Remember my rule, Kiri," he said.

Confused, I followed him, silent. We charged through the house, and he slew more guards. I winced as every one fell to his blade. He kicked in doors, then cursed as what he was searching for eluded him. Behind the last door on the top floor, he found a family. A little girl huddled behind her mother, a beautiful brunette woman. He walked in, and a sword blade from the side caught my eye. Without thinking, I blocked it. The man who wielded it was trembling and dropped the blade when it met resistance.

"Why are you in my home," he demanded, scared, "I have done nothing! Unless.. No! No! You're them!"

"Shut up," Staajun said, and slit his throat as well. Gesturing to the woman and child, he said, "Kiri. Kill them."

"What? No. Why on earth would we need to do that? I'm not even sure why we're here in the first place," I exclaimed, backing away.

"Kiri. Listen to me. They know our names. They can describe our  
faces. The Bishokukai will not hide us. Kill them," he said, as calmly as if we were discussing the weather instead of human lives. "If you do not, I will do it myself. And their deaths will be far slower and more painful than you can make them."

She paused and glanced at everyone. She was ashamed of what came next. "To be honest, I didn't care much about these people. I had understood that being in the Bishokuka would mean killing. It wasn't the deaths that I objected to, but this was cold-blooded murder of a child and a woman with no weapon. However, I believed what Staajun said. He would kill them, he would make it slow and painful, and he would feel no remorse nor anything approaching remorse. I don't expect you to forgive me for this. I killed them.

"I didn't let them know death was coming. I moved as quickly as I could, and slew both child and woman in one stroke. Turning, I fled the room and Staajun. I ran and stopped only when I could run no further. I was in some sort of forest, but I barely registered my surroundings. I laid where I  
had fallen, and cried for the loss of innocent lives.

I am not sure how many hours passed, but it eventually came to me that my throat was dry as sand. It was basic human needs that finally forced me to rise. I staggered to my feet and drank from my water supply. I made my way back to Staajun and said not a word as we flew back to base. When we landed, he put his hand on my shoulder. "If you hadn't killed them, it was my job to kill you," he said quietly before walking off.

It didn't take much to realize that far from being a threat, that had been a kind warning. My continued existence depended on following directions. It was no belief in my cause that caused me to kill and kill again. I grew to have no morals, no conscience that would tug on me every time I killed. They were in my way. In a way, it was survival of the fittest...

I became the beautiful and ruthless assassin of the Bishokukai. I would infiltrate parties or the like as just another woman, and wreak havoc. Sometimes all that was required of me was to flirt with the right men and get them to kill each other for  
me. Other times, I wielded my swords without care to whom I struck. The others soon learned to stay out of my way when I really got into the kill, because I did not distinguish between friend and foe during these bloodbaths. I was a seductress, a murderer, the worst kind of person. And I knew this. More than that, I didn't care. The faces of the dead did not haunt me as I had heard others describe.

I became feared for my hand-to-hand combat, my swords, and my abilities as an assassin. I was not always obviously involved in the deaths of my victims. A dash of poison in a drink, a knife to the back, an unfortunate fall  
down the stairs. I enjoyed manipulating people. It was the ultimate game to me. Could I get this or that man to kill so and so? Would a prod in the right direction lead to war? Who would die next? Human lives meant nothing but the entertainment that they provided. I was a monster..."

Here she stopped and took a huge gulp from her hip flask. Everyone looked shaken, and the heavenly kings had unconsciously tensed in preparation for a fight. The woman in the chair before them merely looked up at them tiredly and continued.

"This continued for gods know how long. I lost track of the years somewhere along the way. I spent roughly four years of my life with the Bishokukai. Then one day... Something set me off. It made me so furious that I destroyed over a third of the base before my fury had run its course. After, I sensed multiple Bishokukai moving to secure me, so I fled. I took a recently acquired Azure Pheonix as my ride.

I flew long and far, and eventually those pursuing me gave up. I landed on the edge of a desert area with sparse foliage and fell fast asleep.

I dreamed of home that night, and woke to find that my dreams had invaded reality, for I remembered this desert. Not far to the west was our childhood home. I began to walk, and the Pheonix kept pace in the air.

I wasn't sure what I felt as I approached the house. It was less dilapidated than it would be a few years later when you returned, Cat, but still in bad shape. I feared that the roof would cave in should I enter, so I instead went in through a gap in the wall. Inside, I found our mother's bedroom. This was a part of the house that none of us had regularly entered. She was secretive, our mother, and I had always been curious as to what she kept in there. I believe that she knew that, because inside I found a box very similar to the one Cat found. A letter addressed to me, as well as pictures and the like. I also found these.

Here she dug around in her bag and held up a necklace and a leather jacket. The necklace had both a dragon with it's tail wrapped around a clear orb and a delicate, beautiful, pale pink rose on it. The jacket was shiny black leather with a gold pheonix outlined on the back.

"Toriko, the jacket's for you. There's also two letters addressed to you from our parents. And here, you should see this too."

She handed him the bundle, and Toriko picked through it. The letters were unopened, and on top of them was a picture of Tsuri. Blonde hair, flashing blue eyes, laughter captured forever. Toriko's head started to pound, accompanied by the feeling that he should know something but it was eluding his grasp. He unfolded the jacket, and a smell reached his nose, one that he remembered. He remembered! Looking up, he whispered, "Raisa, Kiri... I remember now."

Everyone in the room gasped. Tears began to run down Cat's face, and Ari smiled and said, "Hah, took you long enough."

Komatsu looked up at Toriko worriedly, "Are you sure, Toriko?"

"Yeah. Who would've guessed?" Toriko laughed.

Coco and Sani looked rather confused, while Zebura appeared decidedly annoyed, most  
likely because he wouldn't get to beat anyone up now.

"Well. Please continue with your story, Arianna," Coco said.

"Hmph. Until then, I'd mostly forgotten about dad, since he'd been imprisoned for as long as I could remember. I left the house resolved to find him.

Mom's letter mentioned that he'd been taken to Honey Prison, so that's where I went. I arrived at the train tracks for that boat train thing only to find that the damned thing was due back in a month. Of course, I wasn't going to wait that long. Instead, I hiked along the tracks, killing wild beasts for food,  
beholden to no one, following no one, enjoying the freedom of the thing.

By and by I reached Honey Prison. It was certainly an intimidating area. I later learned that I had been very lucky timing wise. I had missed the Freeze Season by barely a day, and so the strongest monsters had only just begun to wake. I was stopped by Warden Love's assistant and several others roughly halfway to the Prison. Instead of fighting, I relaxed and held my hands up. "Hey, hey calm down. I no longer serve the Bishokukai. I'm here of my own accord. Take me to my father, and I'll let you take me prisoner."

I was escorted into the Prison in handcuffs. I was told this was just a precaution, but I knew better. These people weren't about to pass up the chance to catch a Bishokukai. I'd been fully aware of that when I'd set out for Honey Prison, and I was ready to accept whatever they saw as a fit punishment. My goal in this was to be able to join society without being constantly on the run.

I was lead to a large room where Warden Love greeted me. "What do you want?" she demanded to know.

"A pony and five trillion in cash. Short of that, I would like to meet my father."

"He's dead. Only happened two months ago. We tried to contact the family, but, obviously, no one still lived in your house, and both you and your sister were impossible to locate."

"Ahh. So. As we both know, I chose to come here. If I hadn't come of my own free will, you would not have caught me," I said, demonstrating this by breaking my shackles, "And I have no interest in execution. How can I make up my debt to society and start living my life without people trailing after me?"

I was disappointed by the news, but unsurprised. Those people probably thought I did not care, but I had become master of the poker face during my time with the Bishokukai.

Warden Love considered me for a minute and said, "If that's what you want, you only have one option."

And so I was sent to Master Chinchin. I and a few others were sent on Execution Beasts to that damn disappearing forest. Upon arrival, we were told to show our gratitude to the temple by bowing. I was under the impression Master Chinchin was insane, but complied. When I looked up, there it was, the promised temple. Master told us to always feel gratitude when inside, and led us in. By this point I was truly ready to reform myself. However, despite my best attempts, a storm of arrows flew at me as I walked down the hallway. The others with me had been led off, so I had no idea that this was considered normal there.

"What the hell is the idea, old man?" I shouted, dodging the arrows.

"Display the proper gratitude, Kara," he replied.

"That's not my name!" I said, this time trying to remove my feet from wooden floor that had suddenly become like quicksand.

"Whatever you say, Joyce," Master replied, continuing to walk as though I wasn't being attacked by a building.

"This place is fucked up," I muttered, beginning to wonder if Honey Prison might have been the easier choice.

Finally, we arrived at a small room. Master took a seat on one couch, I on the other.

"Do you know why you're here, Della?" he asked.

"My name's Ari. And I'm here because I want to repent for my crimes and be able to join regular society."

"Not what I meant. Why were you singled out of the group that came with you?"

"I do not know... sir."

"Master Chinchin. It is because out of all of those here, your crimes merit the most severe punishment. You killed over three hundred people, caused the extinction of at least ten species, and joined an illegal group. Any one of these should have merited an immediate and painful execution. However, you also disappeared a few months ago after destroying part of the Bishokukai base and willingly turned yourself in and agreed to come here sincerely. Your training will still be the most strenuous out of anyone here. If you do not give 100% effort to your training, I will personally see that you are released into the forest to die."

"Yes, Master. I wish to begin," was all I said. I knew this already. Love had given me multiple chances to back out and I had not accepted. I would leave here free or not at all.

Master left and sent in Shuu in his place.

"Come with me," Shuu said, "We need to evaluate your skills."

I didn't see what such a scrawny guy could do, but followed him anyways. We arrived at the training area safe, despite the temple's attacks on me.

He took a battle stance and said, "You may attack me however you like, but please refrain from using those swords. "

I unbuckled the belt that they were attached to and put it aside, then waited for him to move. When he did, I moved to block him and found he was back in starting position, and that my cheek was suddenly stinging. How had he...?

This time I attacked first, but the same thing happened. Around and around we went, me swinging with all my might and he seeming only to dodge. The cuts were so fast that it was only when I stopped, panting for breath, that I noticed how cut up I was.

"You will not win," he said. Even though I was completely out of breath and obviously the loser, I was glad to see that he was winded too, although perhaps not as much as I was. I acknowledged defeat and we moved on.

You know what the training was like. For a solid week I drove myself crazy with the candles and that damn rice. I couldn't get the candles to stay lit, no matter how much gratitude I tried to use. I stayed in a separate house from the rest of the trainees, and almost never even saw them. I was truly alone for the first time in years, as neither Shuu nor Master Chinchin spoke much. I did become adept at dodging blows and sensing when they were coming though, since I could not seem to get the temple used to me.

I'm willing to admit it; I almost gave up several times in that week. Then, one night, sitting in front of the once again unlit candle, I began to think about how ungrateful I had been. I was hungry enough by then to begin to realize how grateful I had been, without realizing it, to the food that had enabled me to survive. Suddenly, the candle re-lit. I lost concentration and it abruptly went out again, but I had lit it! For the remainder of that night, I worked hard on getting that little flame to appear.

Gradually, I came to be able to hold the flame for a minute, then five, ten, twenty, half an hour, and finally, after a month of training, an hour. I mastered the rice and moved on to more difficult training exercises. Two months, and I had completed training. Then, after two months of absence, Master Chinchin once again appeared before me.

"You have learned all I have to teach," he said, "Are you ready to face your final test?"

In all honesty, by then I didn't want to leave. The temple protected me from the outside, and I had to do very little by ways of socializing, since I was alone most of the time. But my answer was obvious.

"Yes, Master. I must find my brother and sister. Therefore I must leave. However," I said, bowing, "Thank you. Thank you for making me see my mistakes in full. Thank you for allowing me to reform myself. But mostly, thank you for giving me the abilities necessary to help fight against the Bishokukai in the future. I now know what it truly means to be grateful for what our earth gives us, and see why they are the fiends they are named."

"Of course, Ari. That is why you are here," he replied.

"M-my name! You got it right!" I exclaimed.

"Did I?" he asked, walking away.

My final test was not eating rice or lighting candles. Master Chinchin led me to the edge of the clearing that the temple lay in, and told me this: "Your final test is the hardest. Failure may cost you your life. Upon leaving this clearing, you will be engulfed in a forest where many of the trees are as those the temple was built of. There are no landmarks, and you will be given no provisions. You must exit the forest by showing it your utmost gratitude. Your final trainer is this forest. Hopefully you have learned to exude gratitude by now. Go, and prove yourself. You leave this forest a free woman."

With that, he turned and left. I headed into the forest, and had almost no trouble exiting. I reached the last of the trees only a day after Master left me.

I left the forest a changed person. I tracked the two of you down, but bided my time. After all, there was no point in contacting you when I had no information. I also kept track of the Bishokukai's movements. I secretly joined the IGO, and they put me on a special team of agents specifically to deal with the Bishokukai. I hadn't planned on contacting either of you, until I found something disturbing in a decided message we intercepted.

You four Heavenly Kings, my sister and I are all mentioned, along with a few others. We lost most of it when they realized it had been intercepted, but we got a list of names and a lot of vague hints about a secret mission. The names include all of the strongest fighters and best chefs of this time. Since you six were involved, I decided to bring you in on it."

"Do you have anything else on this plan?" Coco asked.

"No, nothing on the plan. And before you ask, I can't tell you all of the names on the list. It's confidential. We don't know anything about this plan, but we've warned everyone on the list to be careful. That's why I'm here. Getting to speak to my brother and sister is just a bonus."

"Okay.. I have two lost sisters and dead parents. You two are both murderers, and you've defied the government. Where does that leave us?" Toriko asked, looking tired.

"It leaves you with your memories and us two with the knowledge that we have at least given you what our parents wished us to. You have no obligation to us, Toriko. We can leave here and never contact you again, if that's what you want," Ari said.

" No! That's not what I want. You're the family I've been looking for. I'd actually like to get to know you two better," he said.

"I would actually like to invite everyone here to the island. Rare animals and plants, extinct life forms brought back to life, what better place to put a group of Bishokuya?" Cat asked.

"That beautiful island? I can get even more beautiful food there. I'll go," declared Sani.

"I heard there are several species of rare poisonous creatures there. I would like to take you up on your offer," Coco said.

"Cocky bastards! If there's food to be eaten it's mine!" Zebura growled.

"Of course me and Komatsu are showing up! Right Komatsu?" Toriko asked.

"I've always wanted to go there!" Komatsu said.

"Well then it's settled. I'll send a boat to Fire Harbor in a week to pick you guys up," Cat said.

Food was eaten, stories exchanged, and much celebration occurred before Cat and Ari took their leave. The group parted, only to adjourn again on Gourmet Reserve...

****OKAY I WANT  
EVERYONE TO TAKE NOTE OF THIS:  
YOU CAN NOT TATTOO YOUR  
EYES! IT WILL MAKE YOU  
BLIND! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! I MEAN IT!

Hey you guys! I think you'll want to keep an eye out for Ari's story. It'll be the second of the two, because Cat's will set up parts of it.  
I'm thinking a secret base of a far away tropical island, a cute guy and lots of alone time... ;D XD but I'll keep it T, it'll be your brain's fault if you.. add anything. There'll be romance, hurt/comfort (kinda?), and action! Fights, Staajun'll make an appearance, Tommyrod too, probably, and lovers that should shock you. I hope. P.S. Toriko will not be paired with his sisters. Not that kind of shocking XD. Although maybe him and Sani's sister, Ren? I think her name's Ren.

Also  
I wanna Snickers  
Snickers are yummy  
Chocolate  
Mmmm chocolate

Gemina istitae ~ Twin Justice

Sapientia ~ Wisdom

Misericordia ~ Mercy

Those're in Latin, I may just call then by their English names instead. Latin just sounded so much more official.

Thanks to everyone for reading! Reviews much appreciated, answering my polls even more so. I mainly write love stories, so if you'd like to, you can read the other ones. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And Happy Holidays!


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